RAIDER STADIUM | ASHLAND, OREGON
12 p.m. Friday – Eastern Oregon at SOU | Live Stats | Stream
12 p.m. Saturday – College of Idaho at SOU | Live Stats | Stream
 
ASHLAND – Staring down a weekend that could make or break its Cascade Conference championship hopes, the Southern Oregon University women's soccer team is right where it wants to be at Raider Stadium.

The Raiders (5-4-2 overall, 4-1-1 CCC) are slated to host back-to-back nationally-ranked CCC opponents for the first time ever, facing No. 25 Eastern Oregon (8-2-2, 5-1-1) on Friday and No. 22 College of Idaho (10-1-1, 6-0-1) on Saturday. Both matches start at noon. Since moving into the venue in 2014, SOU is 39-8-5 at Raider Stadium and has yet to drop both ends of a weekend set.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: The Raiders extended their winning streak to three games and their unbeaten streak to five last Friday at Carroll (Mont.), defeating the Saints 2-0 to move into fourth place (by win percentage) with six matches left to play. Sarah Mauk assisted Baylee Touey for the first goal and then scored the second via Sophia Connell as the Raiders tallied both within a six-minute period early in the second half. Jessie Selby made four saves and the Raiders outshot the Saints, 20-8.

NAIA TOP 25: The CCC has multiple teams in the NAIA coaches' poll for the third consecutive week with C of I at No. 22 and EOU at No. 25. C of I beat EOU on Oct. 1 and enters the weekend tied in first place with Northwest (Wash.), which is 6-0-1 in circuit play and remains the conference's only unbeaten team at 10-0-2 overall. Northwest is receiving votes this week and will visit C of I and EOU during the final weekend of the regular season.

BRIEFLY:

• The Raiders have shut out four consecutive opponents – a feat they've achieved each of the last three seasons. They're one of seven CCC teams allowing less than one goal per game during conference play.
• On the CCC save percentage leaderboard, Jessie Selby (.897) is No. 2 and Ashlynn Hernandez (.857) is No. 5. In conference matches, among keepers who have made at least 10 saves, Selby's save percentage of .947 is the best. On SOU's career list, Hernandez (.897) is first and Selby (.871) is second, though Selby has accumulated 121 more saves.
• Sarah Mauk (3 goals, 1 assist) and Baylee Touey (2 goals, 1 assist) are the only Raiders with multiple goals, with six others tallying one. Both two-time All-CCC selections, Mauk is up to 17 goals and six assists and Touey has 14 goals and eight assists in her career. Those numbers put them in the top-10 on SOU's all-time points list.
• The Raiders hadn't defeated an NAIA Top 25 opponent since 2010 until knocking off three in 2019 – all on the road. Their most recent Top 25 win was against then-No. 20 Oregon Tech, the eventual CCC champion, last year in Ashland. They've only faced one nationally-ranked team this season, dropping a 1-0 decision at then-No. 8 Westmont (Calif.) in their season-opener.
• During their five-match unbeaten streak, the Raiders have outscored opponents 9-1. In their previous five outings, they were outscored 5-2.

 
ABOUT EASTERN OREGON: Seeking their first CCC title since claiming back-to-back in 2017 and '18, the Mountaineers have scored 29 goals and given up just six behind all-conference forward Erika Skindlov (4 goals, 4 assists) and Chloe Narolski (3 goals, 3 assists). Cassidy Quick is a returning All-America honorable mention honoree on the back line, and keeper Madline Barker owns a .806 save percentage. SOU is 15-7-1 overall in the head-to-head series and last year scored its first win over EOU since 2016, holding on for a 1-0 triumph behind Mia Santander's seventh-minute goal.

ABOUT COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The Raiders will try to avenge last year's losses to the Yotes, which included a 2-1 decision in the regular season and a 1-0 decision in the CCC Tournament semifinals that ultimately cost them a spot in the NAIA National Tournament. The only blemish on the Yotes' CCC record is a 0-0 draw at Corban; they lead the circuit in goals per game (3.0) with seven starters back from last year's team, including Larissa Wegner (5 goals, 3 assists) and Lily Schlake (4 goals, 2 assists). Freshmen Natasja Davis (5 goals) and Gianna Yslava (6 goals, 2 assists) have injected additional power into the attack. The overall head-to-head series is even, 12-12-2.