ASHLAND – Frida Vargas and the Southern Oregon women's soccer team accepted a late gift from Simpson (Calif.) to score a 1-0 victory in the opener for both teams Thursday afternoon at Raider Stadium.
In the 80th minute of a scoreless game, SOU's Sierra Betzler escaped double coverage to lead Abby McKean with a pass into the box. McKean took contact from a defender and went down mid-stride attempting to retrieve it, and after the whistle blew Vargas stepped up to stick a penalty kick inside the left post.
It stood as the lone breakthrough for the Raiders, who'd been quieted to that point by Red Hawks keeper Kiah Gridley's six saves. Their series of near-misses was punctuated by a Mia Ammons shot in the second half that struck the crossbar and bounced back into play.
The win was the Raiders' seventh in a row against Simpson dating back to 2010. The Red Hawks have been shut out in each of those meetings.
SOU keeper Ashlynn Hernandez kept them off the board again with three saves, including a highlight stop in the first half when Litsy Munoz had her one-on-one on a breakaway. Munoz accounted for three of Simpson's four shots on goal, firing another that defender Miller Bertani blocked a few yards away from the goal with Hernandez cleared out of the way.
The clean sheet was the fourth Hernandez has turned in during her career. The senior is six away from establishing a new SOU record.
Vargas and Payton Puppe-Wotipka had two on-target shots apiece for the Raiders. They mounted a 19-7 advantage in total shots, controlling possession for most of the afternoon.
Following a scrimmage Saturday at Cal Poly Humboldt, the Raiders return home for two more next week: 2 p.m. Monday against Pacific Union and 10 a.m. Thursday against Arizona Christian.