12 p.m. Friday – College of Idaho at SOU – Live Stats | Live Stream
12 p.m. Saturday – Rocky Mountain at SOU – Live Stats | Live Stream

ASHLAND – It's unlikely anyone saw the Southern Oregon men's soccer team coming, but the Raiders won't be sneaking up on anyone anymore.

This weekend, the Raiders (10-2-2 overall, 8-1-2 CCC) will be on their home field with a chance to capture a conference title just 14 months after the program debuted. Riding an active eight-game unbeaten streak, they're part of a four-way tie for first place with Corban (9-2 CCC), Rocky Mountain (8-1-2) and Evergreen (7-0-4). (Unlike the CCC women's standings, which are ordered by table points – three points for a win, one for a tie – the men's standings are ordered by win percentage, and all four teams stand at .818.)

Finishing the deal won't be easy: College of Idaho (4-10, 3-8) visits Raiders Stadium on Friday and Rocky Mountain (10-3-2, 8-1-2), the defending champion and preseason favorite, is in town Saturday. Both games are slated for 12 p.m. starts. And while all eyes will be on the Raiders and Rocky on Saturday afternoon, nothing will be decided until later that night when Corban hosts Evergreen.

Progress Report: In a conference with several young programs, SOU's performance stands out. Here is how other teams have recently fared in CCC play during their second seasons:
– Northwest Christian: 2-10 (2008).
– Oregon Tech: 5-7-2 (2009).
– Carroll: 8-3-2 (2015).
– Eastern Oregon: 5-6-1 (2016).

SOU boosted its worth by excelling on the road, where it is 6-0 this year in conference play after 3-1 wins last week at Carroll and Great Falls. Last year, the Raiders went 2-5 on the road. They've also been the best defensive team statistically, allowing just seven goals. Evergreen (nine goals allowed) is the only other team under 10.

Briefly:
– In the event of a tie at the end of the regular season, the No. 1 seed in the Cascade Conference tournament – and the CCC's first automatic bid to the NAIA Championships – will go to the team with the best head-to-head win percentage against the other tied team(s). Earlier this year, SOU tied Evergreen and was defeated by Corban, while Rocky defeated Corban and tied Evergreen.
– The top four teams have all clinched playoff spots and top-four seeds in the eight-team CCC tournament, which will be held Nov. 4-7 in Springfield. Seven teams are still in contention for the Nos. 5-8 seeds.
– Raider forward Carlos Magana, who was only a part-time starter until two weeks ago, has scored five times during SOU's active four-game winning streak. His nine goals in conference play rank second in the CCC, and his 10 total goals make him the first double-digit goal-scorer in team history.
– In the nine games since beating up Multnomah and Walla Walla by a combined 14-0 score, the Raiders have been out-shot, 119-111, but have a scoring edge of 15-7.
– Ahmon Afenegus has recorded six assists in CCC action, one off the league lead.
– Keeper Jonathan Morales leads the CCC in goals-allowed average (0.4) and save percentage (.911), giving up four goals with 41 saves. He could let the next three goals he sees get by and still have the top percentage.

About College of Idaho:
– After going 6-7 in the CCC last year, the Yotes have fallen on hard times and lost seven of eight coming into the weekend. They're 1-6 in conference games decided by one goal and went 0-6 at home.
– Guilherme Siqueira (nine goals, two assists), Carter Perry (five goals, one assist) and Cole Fuller (three goals, five assists) lead the team in points. Their defense ranks 11th in goals allowed per game (1.9).
– The Yotes won last year's meeting against SOU in Caldwell, 4-0. It was the Raiders' first ever CCC game.

About Rocky Mountain:
– Since dropping a puzzling 4-0 decision to Great Falls at home on Sept. 30, the Bears have gone 5-0-2 and conceded five goals.
– Nolan Sherwood, a sophomore from Las Vegas, is second in the CCC in points with 10 goals and four assists.
– Like the CCC's other Montana schools, the Bears' roster features several foreigners – nine, to be exact, from five different countries.
– The Bears have qualified for the national tournament four years in a row.
– Last year, they defeated the Raiders 3-2 in a testy game in Billings that featured 33 fouls and six yellow cards.