TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
SPRINGFIELD – Southern Oregon goalkeeper
Jessie Selby was ready when she finally got a chance to flex her newly acquired All-Cascade Conference first-team credentials in Tuesday night's quarterfinal round of the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank.
After 110 scoreless minutes in which she didn't need to make a single save, Selby and the No. 2-seeeded Raiders went to penalty kicks with No. 7 seed Rocky Mountain (Mont.) at Les Schwab Sports Park. It was there that the Battlin' Bears' first shooter, Halle Labert, had her attempt stopped by a diving Selby, who corralled the save, jumped to her feet and emphatically rolled the ball back to where it'd come from.
The stop turned out to be the only one the Raiders needed as they converted all five of their penalty kicks –
Natalie Paul,
Morgan Rohmann,
Ruth Hegstad,
Emily Williman and
Phoebe Bunn coolly coming through in succession.
The Raiders (12-4-2) – who hadn't survived PKs since 2015 when they knocked out RMC (10-5-3) – moved on to play in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday. They'll meet No. 3 seed College of Idaho, which was the last team to defeat the Raiders before they started their active six-game unbeaten streak.
The Yotes advanced by defeating Corban, 3-1. Top-seeded Oregon Tech and No. 4 seed Northwest (Wash.) will match up in the other semifinal.
Since losing 2-1 to the Yotes on Oct. 15, the Raiders have gone 560 minutes without giving up a goal. Selby – who had the CCC's best save percentage in at least 15 years during the regular season at .925 – wasn't challenged by the Bears until the shootout. It was the first time since last spring that an SOU opponent didn't record a shot on goal.
The Raiders put five shots on target and compiled a 16-6 advantage in total shots but couldn't break through. RMC keeper Atlanta Kishbaugh kept them off the board.
They're still alive anyway and in the semifinals for the second straight CCC Tournament. If they can eliminate C of I, they'll make their first-ever title game appearance at 3 p.m. Friday at Eugene's Civic Park.
