ASHLAND – Of the 29 shots No. 24 Southern Oregon got off while dominating play against Providence (Mont.), the one that posed the highest degree of difficulty was the difference-maker in a 1-0 victory on Saturday afternoon at Raider Stadium.

Freshman Ariel De Dios Cruz finished off a pretty sequence in the 49th minute that made the Raiders 8-1-1 in the Cascade Conference and kept them in a tie with Carroll (Mont.) for first place on the table.

It started with Bryan Mendoza's through-ball from midfield that Alex Hjulmand chased down at the end line, passing across his body to De Dios Cruz for a short bicycle kick that went as his third goal of the season. Both Mendoza – a defender back from injury for the first time since mid-August – and Hjulmand were credited with assists.

The Raiders (11-3-1 overall) completed their regular-season home slate with six wins in eight games. They play their last three on the road, starting next Friday at Oregon Tech.

Providence (1-12-0, 0-10-0) lost by a one-goal margin for the fifth time in its last seven outings. Casey Ruvolo kept the Argos off the board with three saves.

SOU had 11 on-target shots from 10 different players. Ryosuke Tanaka was the only player with two of them.

The Raiders have shut out Providence in four consecutive meetings. They've blanked six of their last eight opponents overall in CCC play.