SOU NOTES

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon soccer team will look to extend its four-match winning streak as it closes out its home regular season schedule this weekend with games against College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon.

The Raiders, 8-5-1 overall and 4-1 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, host the Yotes in Saturday's Homecoming and Senior Day match, 11 a.m. at University Field. Southern Oregon's final regular season home match will be Monday, when the Raiders host the Mountaineers at 2 p.m.

Southern Oregon swept all three of its matches last weekend, shutting out Northwest Christian 1-0 on the road before defeating Trinity Lutheran 4-1 and Oregon Tech 4-0 at home. Head coach Jon Clement believes the recent run will help push the Raiders to more success in the final weeks of the regular season.

“We're really happy with all those results,” Clement said of last week's matches. “We scored a bunch of goals against some really good goalkeepers, so I think we're starting to gain some momentum, which is pretty exciting.”

The Raiders rank second in the conference standings behind only Concordia's 18 points and 6-0 conference record. Southern Oregon has outscored its opponents 29-13 this season and outshot opponents 226-95. Twelve different Raiders have scored a goal this season, with eight different SOU players scoring multiple times.

Stephanie Carr (Upland, Calif./Upland) leads SOU and ranks second in the conference with eight goals, and her 17 total points ranks fourth in the CCC. Ten SOU players have earned at least one assist, with Sydney Paulsen (Loveland, Colo./Thompson Valley) and Denise Powell (Grants Pass, Ore./Hidden Valley) leading the team with three apiece. Jessica Kuehlwein (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City) has played more than 1,200 minutes in goal, giving up 12 goals while making 42 saves for a .778 save percentage.

In College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon, the Raiders will be facing a pair of teams in the bottom half of the conference standings. The Yotes rank sixth with a 2-2-1 conference record, and the Mountaineers rank eighth with a 1-3-1 mark. But Clement sees both teams as dangerous opponents.

“We have a very tough weekend coming up,” Clement said. “College of Idaho has really technical players all over the place and they're a very difficult opponent, and then Eastern Oregon after that, they're a hardworking bunch for sure.”

Saturday's match will be the 16th match between College of Idaho and Southern Oregon. The Raiders own a 6-9 all-time mark against the Coyotes, including a 5-3 mark in their first eight meetings. From 2005 through 2009, C of I won six consecutive matches over SOU, including the final four by 1-0 scores. The Raiders ended the Yotes' winning streak last season with a 1-0 win in Caldwell, Idaho.

On Monday, SOU will face EOU for the 13th time, with the Raiders holding a 9-3 advantage over the Mountaineers. Southern Oregon won the first five meetings by a combined score of 24-1 before EOU took three matches in a row from 2004 to '06. Since then, the Raiders have won the last four matches, outscoring Eastern by an average of 2.5 goals per match during that stretch.

“We have our work cut out for us,” Clement said. “But I'm really confident that our team is ready and excited to take on the challenges this weekend.”