CASCADE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY U.S. BANK
Lithia & Driveway Fields | Medford, Oregon | Nov. 8-12
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

Saturday – Quarterfinals
4 p.m. – (2) Carroll (12-2-2) vs. (7) Oregon Tech (7-5-5) (Wheeler Field)
4 p.m. – (3) Rocky Mountain (7-1-7) vs. (6) Southern Oregon (10-4-4) (Field 12)
7 p.m. – (1) Eastern Oregon (13-0-4) vs. (8) Bushnell (10-6-2) (Wheeler Field)
7 p.m. – (4) Warner Pacific (11-4-2) vs. (5) College of Idaho (6-3-4) (Field 12)
Monday – Semifinals (at Wheeler Field)
4 p.m. – Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed
7 p.m. – Other quarterfinal winners
Wednesday – Championship (at Wheeler Field)
2 p.m. – Semifinal winners

PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Southern Oregon men's soccer team (10-4-4 overall, 5-4-3 CCC) will be eager to turn the page on the regular season as the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank begin with the quarterfinal round on Saturday in Medford at Lithia & Driveway Fields. The injury bug loomed large as the Raiders went 1-2-3 during the second half of conference play, a finish that left them with a clear directive entering the tournament: win or go home. As the No. 6 seed, their lone path back to the 40-team NAIA National Tournament is winning the championship and the automatic bid that comes with it. First in their way is No. 3-seeded Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (7-1-7, 6-1-5) at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Unbeaten Eastern Oregon claimed the CCC's first automatic bid by winning the regular-season title at 10-0-2 with one more point on the table (32) than runner-up Carroll (Mont. (31). The Mountaineers are also the defending tournament champions and would be a likely second-round opponent for the Raiders should they advance past the first round. The tourney is not bracketed, meaning the highest remaining seed will face the lowest remaining seed in Monday's semifinals.

SOU vs. ROCKY: One of the Raiders' key injuries occurred in their regular-season matchup at Rocky on Oct. 2, when All-CCC defender Josue Ghiessy Biveghe departed early in the first half of a 1-0 loss. The Bears fired 16 shots compared to SOU's six in the contest and got the lone goal in the 54th minute from Lorenzo Klamler, a senior midfielder who finished the regular season with 10 of them. Australian freshman David Russell (13 goals, 5 assists) leads the Bears' high-powered attack, which has produced 44 goals, but his availability is in question due to card accumulations.

Shorthandedness contributed in large part to the Raiders' offensive struggles down the stretch – they scored only three goals in their last five games – and they'll rely on Irwin Leon (9 goals, 3 assists), Daniel Palomino (3 goals, 4 assists) and Papa Yansane (3 goals, 4 assists) to pick them up. Their senior goalkeeper, Casey Ruvolo, is one shutout away from tying SOU's career record of 30 and is sitting on seven clean sheets this fall.

SOU is 7-4-1 in the all-time series against Rocky and had won five straight matchups before last month. The last time they met in the postseason was a 2-1 Raiders quarterfinal victory in 2021. The teams played for the championship in 2018, and the Bears took it in penalty kicks.

SOU TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Raiders are in the tournament for the ninth consecutive season (they haven't missed it since their inaugural campaign in 2015), but they'll be playing with their lowest seed yet. They compiled a remarkable 10-2-5 overall record through the first eight appearances, though they have yet to prevail in PKs. They captured their only CCC Tournament championship in 2017 with an overtime win against Corban. Oregon Tech eliminated SOU in overtime of last year's quarterfinals, 2-1.