BILLINGS, Mont. – The Southern Oregon men's soccer team has first place all to itself after its third come-from-behind win in four Cascade Conference games.
The Raiders' latest high-wire act was Friday afternoon's 2-1 overtime win against Rocky Mountain (Mont.) at Wendy's Field, which
Luis Navarrete ended in the 95th minute by lacing a free kick that froze the Battlin' Bears' stoppers and kept them stunned in place as SOU's bench poured onto the field in celebration.
It made the Raiders 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the CCC – the last unscathed record in the conference after Warner Pacific simultaneously went down 2-1 at Corban. Another win Saturday at Providence (Mont.) would almost certainly propel them into next week's NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll; they were the first team out of Wednesday's latest rankings, the same day that the first NAIA Modified RPI of the year had them slotted at No. 20.
RMC (4-2-2, 1-2-1), which was picked ahead of SOU at No. 2 in the CCC preseason poll, is winless in three of its last four outings.
As usual in recent weeks, SOU's fortunes turned on a goal from
Alan Gaytan, who scored for the seventh time in his last seven games.
RMC had taken the lead on a set piece in the 71st minute, when a 40-yard free kick found Quique Garcia wide of the right post and he headed it to Finn Lane for a strike in front of the goal.
The advantage lasted for less than eight minutes. Gaytan found himself with the ball in the box in the 79th, spun on his defender and had a left-footed shot deflected by keeper Ryan Cornwall but recovered it in space and shot again to level the score.
Navarrete's third goal and first winner for the Raiders came after he was pulled down while streaking toward the box, drawing a yellow card on Zach Wall. His free kick was set up just wide of the right post and lined untouched just inside of it.
"I thought this was our best performance this season against a very tough opponent a long way from home," SOU coach
Davie Carmichael said. "We managed to weather a few rough stages but overall I thought we had the majority of possession, opportunities and momentum."
All four of the Raiders' game-winning goals during CCC play have been tallied in the 74th minute or later. They've trailed three times, but never for longer than nine minutes.
SOU's eight-game winning streak is tied for the longest in program history. The 2018 Raiders went on a similar run and ultimately won the CCC with an unbeaten 11-0-2 record.
This year's squad will try to establish a new benchmark at noon Pacific Time on Saturday against the Argos.
