By Chris Slack, Sports Info Grad Assistant

Mike Kelly Field | Springfield, Ore. | Tournament Central (live stat/stream links)
FRIDAY'S GAMES (CCC QUARTERFINALS)
11 a.m. – #1 Carroll (8-0-3) vs. #8 College of Idaho (3-5-3)
11 a.m. – #2 Southern Oregon (9-2) vs. #7 Northwest Christian (4-6-1)
2 p.m. – #3 Corban (8-3) vs. #6 Rocky Mountain (5-6)
2 p.m. – #4 Eastern Oregon (6-3-2) vs. #5 Northwest (6-3-2)
SATURDAY'S GAMES (CCC SEMIFINALS)
5 p.m. – Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed
5 p.m. – Next highest seed vs. Next lowest seed
MONDAY'S GAME (CCC CHAMPIONSHIP)
12 p.m. – Semifinal winners

ASHLAND – Having captured a share of its first Cascade Conference regular-season title will be an afterthought for the Southern Oregon women's soccer team as it starts play in the CCC tournament Friday in Springfield.

The regular season left a sour taste in the mouths of the Raiders (12-5-1 overall, 9-2 CCC). They needed a point in last Saturday's finale against Rocky Mountain to clinch the outright title and a spot in their first national tournament but were dealt a 1-0 loss and with it lost the tiebreaker to co-champion Carroll. To avenge themselves, they'll need to make more team history in a season full of it: They've never been past the second round of the CCC tourney, but if they can at least get to the title game against Carroll or win it against anyone else, the second automatic bid will be theirs.

As the No. 2 seed, their journey begins at 11 a.m. Saturday with a quarterfinal matchup against seventh-seeded Northwest Christian (7-10-1, 4-6-1). The Raiders won the regular-season meeting, 2-0, on Sept. 24 in Ashland behind goals from Makena Totushek and Megan McArthur and one of the team-record 12 shutouts SOU has pitched this season. They've also never lost in 11 all-time meetings, going 10-0-1.

Playoff Picture: The tournament is not bracketed; instead, the highest remaining seed will be matched with the lowest remaining seed in Saturday's semifinals. Both semifinals start at 5 p.m. on adjacent fields, and the championship game is slated for noon Monday.

Seven of the eight teams in the tournament also appeared last year. The lone newcomer, Northwest Christian, is in it for the first time in program history. Carroll won last year's tournament over Eastern Oregon in penalty kicks after the first 110 minutes resulted in a scoreless draw. Concordia – which departed for the NCAA Div. II level last year – is the only other team to have ever won the CCC tournament.

SOU Postseason History: The Raiders, picked fifth in the CCC preseason poll, are in the tournament for the seventh straight season and the 12th time overall. The Raiders have an all-time record of 3-10-1 in the tourney, getting out of the first round in 2008, 2013 and 2015. As the No. 5 seed last year, they upset Rocky in the first round in penalty kicks, 5-4, and lost to Carroll in the semifinals, 2-0.

Briefly:
– On the conference leaderboard, SOU ranked second in goals per game (1.6) and first in goals against (0.2). The lone goal that decided the Raiders' loss to Rocky was the only non-penalty kick they allowed in CCC play.
– Kylie Moltzen has 10 solo and two shared shutouts to her credit, the most in SOU single-season history.
– 11 different Raiders scored this season. Megan McArthur leads the team with nine goals, which ranks second in the CCC. Makena Totushek has four goals, including the lone scores in SOU's last two wins.
– Presley Lambert owns a team-high four assists. Lisa Elledge, Facienne Graham and McArthur each assisted on three goals.

About Northwest Christian:
– The Beacons started 1-5-1 in the CCC but won three of their last four games to secure their first playoff berth.
– Emily Miller (5 goals, 1 assists) and Maggie McCausland (4 goals, 2 assists) lead the team in points.
– In CCC play, the Beacons were outscored 17-12.
– The Beacons have scored four goals in 11 games against SOU and just one in the last seven meetings.