HELENA, Mont. – The Southern Oregon men's soccer team took another giant step toward the Cascade Conference title by defeating Carroll (Mont.) 1-0 on Saturday at Nelson Stadium.

Bryan Mendoza deposited the lone goal in the 17th minute courtesy of another Adrian Villegas assist as the Raiders went to 12-2 overall and 8-1 in the CCC. They knocked off a Saints (6-3-3, 6-2-2) team that entered the afternoon riding a five-game unbeaten streak with hopes of overtaking SOU on the table.

But the Raiders completed their perfect road trip, a day after topping Providence (Mont.) 1-0, and ran their winning streak to five games to maintain the top record in the circuit. They're two points in front of second-place College of Idaho – which is responsible for their only CCC loss – and play all four of their remaining regular season games at Raider Stadium.

Mendoza, a junior from Salinas, Calif., was the latest hero with his first goal as a Raider. Villegas set him up on a free kick from 30 yards deep for a back-post volley into the top corner.

Villegas also assisted Evan Norconk's game-winner Friday and is up to a CCC-best nine assists to complement his nine goals. The senior has accumulated six of those assists over his last four outings.

The Raiders kept the Saints to one shot on goal, dealing them their first shutout in conference play. A day earlier, they held Providence without a single on-target attempt.

The shutout was their seventh of the year. It also marked their sixth one-goal victory.

Their next hurdle is another tall one. They host rival Oregon Tech, which owns a 6-2-2 CCC record and is locked in a third-place tie, at 4 p.m. Friday.