No. 15 RAIDER MEN'S SOCCER (9-1-1, 5-1-0 CCC)
2:30 p.m. Friday – vs. Eastern Oregon (2-3-5, 2-2-3) | Live Stats
2:30 p.m. Saturday – vs. College of Idaho (1-5-5, 1-2-4) | Live Stats
TICKETS | LIVE STREAMS

ASHLAND – With a No. 15 NAIA ranking to protect, the Southern Oregon University men's soccer team returns to Raider Stadium's Laurel Field this weekend to face a pair of highly capable Cascade Conference rivals who are desperate for wins in the midst of disappointing seasons.

The Raiders (9-1-1 overall, 5-1-0 CCC) enter the homestand four points behind first-place Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and two back of second-place Bushnell with a game in hand over both.

They play Friday against defending champion Eastern Oregon (2-3-5, 2-2-3), which brought back half of its starting lineup from last year's unbeaten team but has fallen out of the title race while scoring three goals in its last five games. College of Idaho (1-5-5, 1-2-4) visits on Saturday, fighting to stay in the playoff picture after getting its first win of the season in upset fashion against Carroll (Mont.) last week. Both matchups start at 2:30 p.m.

LATINO DAY: In partnership with SOU's Latino Student Union, the Raiders will celebrate their annual Latino Day on Saturday. The festivities will include a beer garden, taco truck, Latin music and more.

NAIA TOP 25: The Raiders moved up one spot to No. 15 in Wednesday's second edition of the National Selection Committee poll, marking their new highest ranking since the 2019 preseason. That's because their first loss, during the last two-week rating period, came against arguably the hottest team in the NAIA: Rocky Mountain, which has gone from unranked to No. 8 in the span of a month. They're the only CCC teams currently in the poll, though Bushnell is knocking on the door with its unbeaten 9-0-4 record. The Beacons have still yet to face the other top-four teams in the standings.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior forward Ariel De Dios Cruz notched his first career hat trick in last Friday's 4-0 win at Providence – scoring on a free kick, a penalty kick and an assist from Jose Mondesi Munoz – and was rewarded with the CCC Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday. De Dios Cruz missed just over a year with an injury, but in six games since returning he has provided six goals and an assist. In his last 12 appearances since the start of 2025, the Eugene native has 12 goals in two assists. He is currently tied for the CCC lead in conference goals.

BRIEFLY:

• Last week's win at Providence was the Raiders' only win on the field, but they collected another one off of it. The NAIA awarded them a forfeit victory for a non-conference game that was scheduled to be played Aug. 30 at Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) but was canceled due to unplayable field conditions.
• The Raiders have still yet to concede multiple goals in a game this season and have outscored their opponents 20-7 combined. First-year goalkeeper Daniel Espinosa owns a save rate of 84% and stopped both PKs he faced during SOU's last homestand. The Raiders are scoring one goal per 3.5 shots on frame; opponents are getting one per 6.3.
• Five different Raiders have contributed game-winning goals and 10 have supplied assists. No Raider has more than two of either.
• The Raiders have a home record of 51-8-4 under head coach Davie Carmichael (2018-present). He has also led them to an overall conference record of 74-17-9 and is seeking a third CCC title.