*This story has been updated to reflect stat corrections made by the host.
CENTRALIA, Wash. –
Ryosuke Tanaka notched his first hat trick in a 4-1 win at Evergreen (Wash.) for Southern Oregon, which clinched the No. 2 seed in the Cascade Conference Tournament on the final day of the regular season.
Tanaka, who had yet to tally this season, put the No. 25-ranked Raiders (12-4-2 overall, 9-2-2 CCC) on top with a 15-yard shot in the eighth minute, and
Jayden Cameron made it 2-0 in the 32nd off a through-pass from
Evan Norconk.
After Evergreen's Joshua Coetzee cut the lead in half in the 58th minute, Tanaka countered 20 seconds later via another Norconk assist. He provided the finishing touches in the 75th courtesy of
Kaito Nakayama's team-leading eighth assist.
Tanaka's hat trick was SOU's first of the season and the 13th in team history.
The Raiders finished 4-1-2 on the road in conference play. They'll have a homefield advantage of sorts for the CCC Tournament, which begins Nov. 10 at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford. Their quarterfinal opponent is No. 7 seed Oregon Tech, which they tied last week in Klamath Falls.
A complete tournament schedule will be released soon.
Junior goalkeeper
Casey Ruvolo made three saves for the Raiders, who mounted a 25-10 advantage in total shots and put nine on goal.
The Geoducks were already eliminated from postseason contention before the day began. They finished at 3-12-1 overall and 3-9-1 in the CCC.