2:30 p.m. PT Friday – SOU at Carroll – Live Stream
2:30 p.m. PT Saturday – SOU at Great Falls – Live Stats

ASHLAND – Two weeks are left on the Cascade Conference men's soccer schedule and nothing has been decided. In theory, eight different teams are still within striking distance of first place.

That's why Southern Oregon (8-2-2 overall, 6-1-2 CCC), like nearly everyone else, finds itself simultaneously shooting for a title and holding on for dear life going into the final stretch. The fourth-place Raiders – who are just two points behind first-place Rocky Mountain (with next weekend's matchup looming) and six points ahead of ninth-place Northwest Christian – will be in Montana this weekend, playing the Carrroll Saints (7-7, 5-4) at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday and the Great Falls Argos (6-6, 5-4) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Riding a six-game unbeaten streak, during which they've used shutouts to win four games, the Raiders have scored the two best wins of their season in their last two outings – defeating Northwest (Wash.) and Oregon Tech to jump both in the standings. The momentum accrued will be useful: All four remaining opponents were picked to finish ahead of SOU, and three have winning records.

After this week, SOU returns home to complete its regular-season schedule Oct. 28-29 against College of Idaho and Rocky Mountain. Eight teams will advance to the CCC tournament, which will be held Nov. 4-7 in Springfield.

Briefly:
– The Raiders are 4-0 in CCC road games this season and have yet to allow a goal. Last year they went 2-5 on the road and gave up an average of 2.1 goals.
– Carlos Magana is tied for second in the CCC with six goals in conference matches. He tallied the go-ahead scores in the last two games, and both were assisted by Ahmon Afenegus. This year, Afenegus ranks second in CCC play with five assists, and the last one made him the first-ever Raider to reach 10 career assists.
– Jonathan Morales' conference save percentage of .943 (33 saves, two goals allowed) leads the CCC, as do his five shutouts. Discounting penalty kicks, he's made 28 straight saves since last allowing a goal.
– The Raiders are led in minutes by the three players who have been their cornerstone defenders: Brett Butler (93 per game), Paul Matyas (82) and Gonzalo Garcia (81). In the last three games, Butler has also converted a pair of penalty kicks.
– SOU's 2-0 win over Oregon Tech last Thursday was its first game decided by more than one goal in a month.

About Carroll:
– The Saints have played the lowest-scoring games in the conference this season, scoring 10 goals and allowing nine against CCC opponents.
– They'll be playing at home for the first time in a month and coming off a road trip that they split at Evergreen (0-1) and Northwest (3-2).
– Isaac Bostrom leads the team with five goals and an assist. No one else has more than two goals or one assist.
– Carroll won last year's meeting in Ashland, 2-1. All three goals were scored in the first 32 minutes.

About Great Falls:
– Picked to finish third after going 10-3 in the CCC last year, the Argos rattled off a four-game winning streak from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2 before losing two of their last three against Carroll and Evergreen. All four of their losses were against team with winning records.
– In CCC play, they've outscored opponents 19-12.
– Mohamed Oulare owns a team-high four goals, while three others have scored three apiece.
– Of the 26 players on their roster, 16 are foreigners from nine different countries.
– The Argos won last year's meeting in Ashland, 2-1 with 67 seconds left in overtime, which effectively eliminated SOU from playoff contention.