ASHLAND – Kaito Nakayama's offense and some back-line dominance gave Southern Oregon a feel-good start to the Cascade Conference slate in a 2-0 win over Multnomah on Friday afternoon at Raider Stadium.

Nakayama had a goal and an assist as the No. 22-ranked Raiders (4-2-0) launched their CCC championship defense by preventing the Lions (2-3-0) from putting a single shot on goal. They've allowed three on-target shots combined in their three shutouts this season.

Franco Fasoli's second goal of the fall gave SOU the lead in the 11th minute. Nakayama retrieved Sky Charley-Bolyard's deflected pass near the top of the box and got rid of it before a pair of defenders converged, finding Fasoli wide on the left side and watching him skip it inside the far post on his first touch.

After a pair of near-misses, Nakayama broke through in the 65th minute when Ryosuke Tanaka found him in space on a breakaway. From the left side, he gathered and darted a short left-footed strike over Lions keeper Joseph Gyamfi.

Earlier in the half, Nakayama had one attempt clank the crossbar and another hit the post a moment before he was called offside. The goal was his first as a Raider, and the assist was his team-leading third.

The Raiders were dominant throughout while improving to 9-0 all-time against Multnomah. The Lions didn't get a shot off in the first half and never seriously threatened in the second.

Fasoli was responsible for three of SOU's eight on-target shots. Both of his goals this year have gone down as game-winners.

Dating back to 2022, the Raiders are 9-0-1 in their last 10 conference home games.

They have another at 1:30 p.m. Sunday against Warner Pacific. The Knights, who received votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll, upped their record to 5-1 with Friday's 2-1 victory at Oregon Tech.