ASHLAND –
Ava Johnson's two second-half goals gave the Southern Oregon women's soccer team a 2-0 win against Warner Pacific and the Cascade Conference's No. 2 seed as the regular season came to a close Sunday at Raider Stadium's Laurel Field.
Sitting in fifth on the table when the day began, the Raiders (11-2-4 overall, 8-2-2 CCC) completed a six-point weekend to claim second place for the second year in a row. They also ended the season for the Knights (5-6-3, 4-5-3), who needed one point to take the eighth and final spot in the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank.
Johnson's goals were her ninth and 10th of the season. The junior striker became the 10th player in team history to hit double figures in a season two days after teammate
Tori Lasch joined that club.
Lasch created the first by getting taken down in the box and drawing a foul in the 55th minute. After the Raiders put only one shot on goal in the first half, Johnson put momentum on their side by skipping in the resulting penalty kick.
Less than nine minutes later, she lined up a 23-yard free kick from the left side and curled it in the near post.
The Raiders finished with the second-best regular season winning percentage (.750) in program history, outdone only by last year's squad. They'll open the CCC Tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 7 seed Corban, set for 10 a.m. next Saturday at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford.
They needed four
Ashlyn Fuss saves to keep the Knights off the board in the first half but didn't allow them to put anything on frame in the second.
SOU out-shot WPU, 22-11. Lasch and
Abby McKean both had a pair on goal.
