RAIDER MEN'S SOCCER (5-0-1, 0-0-0 CCC)
2:30 p.m. Friday – vs. Evergreen (0-3-0, 0-0-0) | Live Stats
12:30 p.m. Sunday – vs. Northwest (2-1-1, 0-0-0) | Live Stats
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ASHLAND – An unbeaten start has only reinforced the expectation that the Southern Oregon men's soccer team will be, as usual, on the short list of Cascade Conference championship contenders.

The title race begins this weekend at Raider Stadium's Laurel Field as SOU brings a 5-0-1 record into CCC openers against Evergreen (Wash.) (0-3-0) at 2:30 p.m. Friday and Northwest (Wash.) (2-1-1) at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The Raiders, who captured the conference crown in 2023 before taking second place last fall, outscored their nonleague opponents 17-3 combined. They were picked second in the CCC preseason poll behind defending champion Carroll (Mont.), while Evergreen was picked 11th and Northwest ninth.

NAIA TOP 25: The Raiders are now higher than any other CCC squad in the NAIA coaches' poll, lurking in the "receiving votes" section at No. 34 overall in the second regular-season ranking – up six spots from the first. Carroll, off to a 2-1-1 start, is no longer receiving votes. Eastern Oregon is the only other team representing the conference at No. 42. The next poll will be released Oct. 1.

BRIEFLY:

• Eighth-year SOU coach Davie Carmichael is three wins away from his 100th with the Raiders. A two-time CCC Coach of the Year, his teams have gone 64-12-6 in conference play and finished outside of the top-three just once.
• Sophomore forward Ariel De Dios Cruz led the Raiders with six goals and an assist in nonleague play. He became the first player in team history to start a season with goal involvements in five consecutive games before exiting seven minutes into SOU's sixth game with an injury.
• First-year Raider Irwin Leon – an All-CCC selection each of the last two seasons at Corban – is at three goals and one assist with goal involvements in four of his last five outings. He is two goals away from reaching 20 for his collegiate career.
• SOU's All-CCC trio on the back line – Josue Ghiessy Biveghe, Daniel Palomino and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Tristan Skerritt – has helped the Raiders limit their opponents to 12 total shots on goal while accumulating 57 of their own. Dating back to last season, 22 consecutive SOU opponents have totaled five or fewer shots on goal.
• Two-time All-CCC goalkeeper Casey Ruvolo is sitting on 25 career shutouts. The senior is five away from matching Wyatt Zabinski's program record.
• SOU is 45-6-2 at home since Carmichael took over in 2018.

ABOUT EVERGREEN: The Geoducks went 3-9-1 in CCC play last season and lost 4-1 in their matchup with SOU. Their top returning scorer is Kolby Juarez (4 goals, 3 assists in 2024), though they've generated only two goals through their first three games. They're attempting to snap a 13-game road losing streak that dates back to 2023. The Raiders are 5-2-2 in the all-time series.

ABOUT NORTHWEST: Matthew Ludlow, an all-conference junior forward, owns six goals already after tallying nine last season, pushing the Eagles to a 3-1-1 start. He scored two in 2024 against SOU to give Northwest a 2-1 victory that dashed the Raiders' championship hopes in the penultimate game of the regular season. SOU is 7-3 in the all-time series with a 4-0 record in Ashland. The Eagles are coming off a 4-4-5 conference campaign that put them in ninth place and left them out of the postseason for the third year in a row.