ASHLAND –
Abby McKean has returned to form not a moment too soon for the Southern Oregon women's soccer team, which used its senior star's playmaking to end a head-to-head winless streak against Eastern Oregon at four games on Friday at Raider Stadium's Laurel Field.
McKean broke a tie in 73rd minute with her second game-winner in a row as the Raiders came back to defeat the Mountaineers, 2-1, and bumped their Cascade Conference record to 5-1-1.
SOU (8-1-3 overall) failed to put a shot on target in the first half and was on the ropes after Holly Dorhauer gave the EOU (8-5-1, 4-4-0) a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute, scoring from up close when she came up with a knocked-around corner kick.
But the Raiders matched that set-piece success five minutes later to level the contest.
Macie Yannoni took a free kick on the edge of the box, left of the goal, and placed it perfectly toward the far post, enabling freshman
Brycelin Endrikat to streak in and head home the first goal of her career.
McKean – who, coming off a 15-goal junior campaign, missed all of non-conference play and hadn't scored this fall until last week – then made her mark. She took an assist from
Tori Lasch and went one-on-one with a defender, starting to her right before cutting back to the middle of the box and hooking a 17-yard attempt in with her non-dominant left foot.
SOU held on despite EOU's lopsided 23-8 advantage in total shots thanks to redshirt-freshman
Ashlyn Fuss, the NAIA's save-rate leader. Fuss made nine stops, including six in the first half to keep the game scoreless.
The Raiders had only totaled one goal over their previous four matchups with EOU. The Mountaineers also knocked them out of the last two CCC Tournaments.
Endrikat, the CCC's assist leader with six, has three goal contributions in her last two outings. She assisted McKean's game-winner last week. Yannoni brought her assist total to four.
The Raiders host No. 22 College of Idaho (10-3, 6-2) at noon Saturday, which is Latino Day at SOU. They'll be playing for sole possession of second place on the table.
