Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
Big first half leads SOU past Saints, 2-1
SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon men's soccer team made sure it couldn't be stung by another late strike on Friday afternoon, netting two goals first-half goals and dominating the majority of a 2-1 win over Carroll (Mont.) at Raider Stadium.
Sophomore Zak Woolley was in on both as he logged the second one-goal, one-assist outing of his Raider career. It made the Raiders 3-4 overall and 1-1 in Cascade Conference play, and left the Saints (3-3-1, 2-1) with their first circuit loss.
In the 40th minute, Woolley sent a long pass from midfield to Adrian Villegas, who got into the box from the left side and dotted the inside of the right post after keeper Kaden Connor scrambled out.
Just four minutes later, Kelly Gieber left a few Saints defenders behind while he split the center of the field off the dribble, then passed to his left to set up Woolley's finish for a 2-0 lead.
The Saints got their goal in the 74th minute on a Nick Lowrimore penalty kick. Otherwise, they were outshot 18-6 and only put one other on goal against SOU keeper Wyatt Zabinski in his return to the lineup.
Villegas, a freshman Hood River, lifted his team-leading goal total to five. Woolley's goal was his second, and the assist was his first.
Gieber, a senior defender/midfielder, is now tied for the team lead with three assists. In four seasons, he's accumulated 16.
The win gave the Raiders a rebound after they lost in the 109th minute in their CCC opener last Saturday at Oregon Tech. Of their four losses, they'd given up the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute or later in three of them.
In 14 conference home games since the start of the 2017 season, SOU is 13-0-1.