The Southern Oregon women's soccer wraps up the 2009 home season Friday and Saturday with a pair of key Cascade Conference matches.

The Raiders (5-7-1, 3-2) host Warner Pacific (1-8-3, 1-3-1) Friday at 2 p.m. and then fifth-ranked Concordia (13-1, 5-0) Saturday at 3 p.m.

The matches become important this week as the Raiders look to climb into the top four in the conference in order to make the postseason tournament. This year's conference tournament as been trimmed to four teams.

Southern Oregon is currently tied with Oregon Tech for the fifth and sixth spots, but just a victory away from being in third and fourth place.

“Sure it's going to be hard, but usually everything really worth having in life and sports is,” SOU head coach Jon Clement said. “I'm really looking forward to the challenge and I know that our players are as well. The goal, clearly, is to win both games.”

Warner Pacific comes into play with one victory on the season, a 1-0 victory over Evergreen State. The Knights fell to Concordia 5-0 last Saturday.

“Warner Pacific works really hard,” Clement said. “They will come at you and we'll have to be very good on and off the ball.”

Concordia is ranked fifth in the week's NAIA Top 25 and advanced to the National Championship game last year. Since the beginning of the 1997 season, the Cavs are 127-5-5 in Cascade Conference matches.

“Concordia is essentially the national standard for top level soccer,” Clement said. “They have a dangerous attacking presence, so our organization is key. Above all else, we have to believe we can win.”

Saturday's match we serve as a fundraiser for Matt Thomas

Thomas, a devoted member of the Ashland and Southern Oregon area, spent many years as an outdoor guide in support of youth groups and families. He was paralyzed from the neck down in a mountain biking accident on July 9.

Donations will be accepted throughout the match and a raffle will be held at halftime.