Willamalane Sports Complex | Springfield, Ore. | Tournament Central
FRIDAY'S GAMES (CCC QUARTERFINALS)
11 a.m. – #8 College of Idaho vs. #1 Southern Oregon
11 a.m. – #7 Evergreen vs. #2 Rocky Mountain
2 p.m. – #6 Northwest vs. #3 Corban
2 p.m. – #5 Oregon Tech. vs. #4 Northwest Christian
SATURDAY'S GAMES (CCC SEMIFINALS)
4 p.m. – Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed
4 p.m. – Next highest seed vs. Next lowest seed
MONDAY'S GAME (CCC CHAMPIONSHIP)
12 p.m. – Semifinal winners

ASHLAND – Already in possession of one Cascade Conference title and a reservation for the NAIA Championships, the Southern Oregon men's soccer team can get greedy this weekend in the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank at Springfield's Willamalane Sports Complex.

The Raiders (11-6-1 overall) went 11-1-1 in the CCC regular season and ended as co-champions with Rocky Mountain (Mont.). By virtue of defeating Rocky, 3-0, on Sept. 15 in a conference-opening matchup in Billings, Mont., SOU won the tiebreaker, the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and the automatic bid to the 30-team national tournament that came with it. The Raiders will meet eighth-seeded College of Idaho (8-7-1, 7-5-1) at 11 a.m. Friday in the quarterfinal round.

But while they won't be playing to extend their season, they'd help their NAIA Championships seeding by winning or at least playing deep into the tournament. The first round will take place Nov. 18 on campus sites, and the highest seeds (according to the rankings) that submitted bids to the national office will host. Pairings will be announced next week upon the conclusion of conference tournaments.

Playoff Picture: The eight-team CCC Tournament is not bracketed; SOU, as the top seed, would play the lowest remaining seed in Saturday's 4 p.m. semifinal round if it advances past College of Idaho. The championship game will be played at noon Monday, and the CCC's second automatic national-tourney bid will be awarded to the winner – unless the winner is SOU, in which case the second bid would go to the runner-up.

Corban, the No. 3 seed, won last year's tourney title and three of the last four. Second-seeded Rocky won the title in 2015, its first year as an associate member of the conference.

SOU Postseason History: After missing the CCC Championships by one game in their inaugural, 2015 season, the Raiders were picked to finish eighth in 2016 but tied for third in the standings with a 9-2-2 record. That gave them the No. 4 seed and a quarterfinal date with Carroll, and after 110 scoreless minutes the Saints won in penalty kicks that required eight rounds.

Briefly:
– The Raiders needed some help last weekend for a shot at the No. 1 seed, and they got it Friday in the form of Rocky and Corban ties. In Saturday's must-win game against Carroll, Mitchell Pinney's goal with four seconds left in the first overtime period – which hit the crossbar on a line and bounced down and past the line – gave them a 2-1 decision and the title. In their previous six overtime games dating back to 2015, they'd gone 0-2-4.
– With 10 shutouts this season, the Raiders top the NAIA leaderboard. What's more, they didn't notch their first until the sixth game of the season. Before Carroll's goal on Saturday, their opponents hadn't scored in 627 game minutes.
– In conference play, SOU finished third in goals scored (28) and first in goals allowed (4) by a margin of six.
– Kelly Gieber's six assists in CCC play ranked second on the conference leaderboard.
– Esteban Castaneda and Travis Hopkins enter the postseason as the team's leading goal-scorers with five apiece. They and Zac Hansen are the only Raiders to tally in back-to-back games this year.

About College of Idaho:
– SOU won the regular-season meeting with the Yotes, 2-1, on Sept. 17 in Caldwell on a Castaneda free kick in the 61st minute. Eight yellow cards were issued in the second half – five to C of I and three to SOU.
– The Raiders have won two of three regular-season matchups between the teams.
– The Yotes are back in the tournament after missing out last year. They last won a postseason game in 2008.
– Five different players have scored at least three goals for the Yotes, who are led in points by Carter Perry (10 goals, 5 assists) and Bekir Cinac (3 goals, 7 assists). In CCC play, they were outscored 23-18 and finished as losers of five of their last seven games.