Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
Hegstad hooks up Baird twice as Raiders defeat Argos
SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – The No. 23 Southern Oregon women's soccer team lived up to its billing in its first home weekend as an NAIA Top 25 team and kept its Cascade Conference record clean in the process.
Two days after shutting out defending co-champion Carroll (Mont.), SOU eased to a 3-1 victory against Providence (Mont.) on Sunday morning at Raider Stadium, giving up the Argos' only goal on a penalty kick.
Ruth Hedgstad assisted Kaya Baird on a pair of perfectly-executed set pieces for the first two goals of the game. And after Providence's Eme McLaughlin cut the lead in half, Baylee Touey extended it again via Trinity Rhoades' long pass from beyond midfield.
The Raiders boosted their record to 5-2-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the CCC. The Argos (2-5-0, 1-3-0) went home with a winless weekend.
Two corner kicks from the right side by Hegstad, a sophomore from Fargo, N.D., produced identical results: clean headers near the far post by Baird. The sophomore from Seattle got the first two goals of her career in the 20th and 57th minutes.
McLaughlin's successful penalty kick – the consequence of a foul in the box – came in the 58th minute and gave her 11 goals on the season, the 13th-highest total in the NAIA.
Touey, the freshman forward, struck back just three minutes later. Rhoades' pass sailed more than 50 yards down field and Touey beat everyone to the ball, including keeper Dakota Neumann, which gave Touey a clear lane for a left-to-right strike. It was her second goal of the weekend and team-leading sixth of the season, and Rhoades' assist was her first.
Raider keeper Jessie Selby made 10 saves, with eight in the first half, in her first start since being named the CCC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time.
It was Selby's second outing with double-digit saves, and she got some help from defender Michala Denn, who kept the Argos off the board early by clearing a ball inches off the goal line.
SOU's home unbeaten streak expanded to 13 games going back to 2017.
The Raiders will be on the road next week, travelling to Billings, Mont., for Sunday's game at Rocky Mountain.