Box Score

SALEM, Ore. – Southern Oregon took a 1-0 halftime lead and scored the game-winner in the 76th minute as the Raiders defeated Corban University Saturday afternoon in a Cascade Collegiate Conference women's soccer match.

With the win, Southern Oregon improves to 5-5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Corban falls to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in the CCC. The Raiders return to action Monday, when they will face Northwest Christian in a conference match in Salem at 2 p.m.

Denise Powell (Grants Pass, Ore./Hidden Valley) put the Raiders on the board in the 16th minute, taking the ball away from the defense and knocking her second goal of the season into the lower right corner of the net. That 1-0 lead would hold until early in the second half.

“It was a really good start from us,” SOU head coach Jon Clement said. “We were attacking with a lot of conviction early in the game and had any number of chances to score early.”

Corban came out strong in the second half, outshooting SOU 7-4 in the period and holding a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks. Audrey Sullivan tied the match with her sixth goal of the season. Kaitlyn Mendenhall sent a long pass to Emily Tsugawa, who flicked the ball to Sullivan for the score in the 56th minute.

The Raiders responded to the game-tying goal just under 20 minutes later, as Danielle Stave (Petaluma, Calif./St Vincent de Paul) sent a cross from the left side to Sydney Paulsen (Loveland, Colo./Thompson Valley) for a goal that Clement considered to be one of the best Southern Oregon has ever scored.

“The game-winning goal was phenomenal,” Clement said. “Danielle's ball was the perfect early cross and exactly the right technical decision to make, and Sydney finalized it with tremendous force. We were really proud of her that she was able to square herself and keep the shot on the frame.”

With the Raiders pulling out only their fourth-ever win over the Warriors, Clement sees a lot of progress and still some room for improvement from his squad.

“I'm proud of our team because we made it through some frantic moments and had enough soccer to pull the game back together our way,” Clement said. “No doubt our very difficult schedule this season helped us today. I still don't think we've played our best 90 minutes yet, but it was a well-deserved and hard-fought victory today.