6 p.m. Saturday – SOU at Simpson (Calif.)
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ASHLAND – The largest recruiting class ever compiled by ninth-year Southern Oregon men's soccer coach Davie Carmichael has arrived in full, and the roster reset came seemingly at an ideal time following a frustrating end to 2025.

Out of 32 players on this year's team, 19 will be representing the Raiders for the first time when they debut against Simpson (Calif.) at 6 p.m. Saturday in Redding. The lack of known entities has the rest of the Cascade Conference unsure about the SOU – the Raiders were picked sixth in the preseason poll, the same spot they landed last year, despite finishing outside of the top-three just twice in the last decade – but Carmichael is more optimistic.

"I don't think we'll be as one-dimensional and relying on the same guys every week," he said. "We have more options defensively and should be able to score goals by committee. That wasn't the case last year and it showed in the results when we lost guys."

To his point, last year's Raiders had an unbeaten 8-0-1 record by the end of September but finished at 10-5-4 as a few key injuries mounted, getting blanked in five conference games over the final month of the regular season. Over Carmichael's previous seven seasons combined, they'd been shut out just 10 times in conference play.

Carmichael's teams have won 102 games, gone 69-16-9 in the CCC, and outscored conference opponents 219-63 combined during his tenure. Despite returning only two players who started at least 15 games last season – All-CCC midfielder Jonathan Gaspar and defender Agustin Gannat – history indicates a return to form is imminent.

"It took a week to get everyone on the same page, but we like what we have and are excited to see how it all comes together," Carmichael said. "The freshmen are ready to compete now, coming from really good backgrounds of quality coaching and high levels of play, and the transfers know how to succeed at this level."

PRESEASON POLLS: Defending champion Eastern Oregon was picked to win the CCC after capturing its first title last season with an unbeaten record, followed by Carroll (Mont.) and Warner Pacific. WPU, however, received a plurality of first-place votes and checked in at No. 8 in the NAIA Top 25 preseason poll after streaking to the 2025 CCC Tournament title and the national quarterfinal round. The Knights are the CCC's only Top 25 team, though Carroll, EOU and Rocky Mountain (Mont.) are receiving votes.

FIRST UP: SOU opens Saturday at Simpson, which lost a 7-0 decision to the Raiders last year in Ashland. The Raiders go to Arizona next week for two games in three days before coming home for the first time to play Sept. 3 against The Master's (Calif.) and Sept. 4 against Arizona Christian. Those games will start at 1 p.m. and mark the final counters on SOU's non-conference slate.

POSITION BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS: One of SOU's most consequential graduations was that of Casey Ruvolo, a three-time All-CCC selection in the net who turned in 29 clean sheets and had a save rate of 80% in his career. Daniel Espinosa, a product of Puebla, Mexico, was behind Ruvolo last year and has won the keeper job as a redshirt-freshman. Tim Grahmann, a sophomore German, was brought in to compete with Espinosa from National Park College (Ark.).

DEFENDERS: Eventually, the Raiders could roll out one of the most physically imposing back lines in the country with center backs Philipp Bundschuh and Michael Mutchukian, both standing at 6-foot-5 and 200-plus pounds. Bundschuh is a promising freshman from Germany, while Mutchukian was a prized signing from Rogue C.C. who put together two all-region seasons with the Ospreys. Marcos Samaniego, an all-star last season at Fresno C.C. (Calif.) and a conference freshman of the year the season before at Clovis C.C. (Calif.), is another junior addition to that group who will be featured.

The Raiders have experience at left back in sophomore Chilean Agustin Gannat, who started the final 15 games of his true-freshman season and was on the field for every minute of the last 10. Maxwell Tennant, a senior Australian, is another returner on the outside, while transfers Elias Ahmed and Jesus Duarte are the newcomers likely to see the most time. Ahmed was an all-conference selection for a Feather River C.C. (Calif.) team that won 18 games and Duarte earned two all-region nods as a defender and midfielder at Rogue.

"Defensively we look pretty strong, a bit more robust," Carmichael said. "We should be able to break possession and be transitional."

MIDFIELDERS: Jonathan Gaspar became one of SOU's most reliable performers in his first season with the team, stepping in as a full-time starter and elevating to the All-CCC second team. As a junior, he'll be surrounded by some talented new faces.

They include Jacobo Contreras Benitez, a junior who was the 2025 NWAC South Region MVP after posting 10 goals and eight assists in his Lane C.C. career; junior Folsom Lake C.C. (Calif.) transfer Esmatullah Yawari, an all-conference performer who has been a standout in camp; and Cruz Cuevas-George, a freshman who made a pair of all-state teams as a prep at McMinnville High. South Medford product Felix Valenzuela Paz made 12 starts last season and will also be in the mix again in his third season with the team.

FORWARDS: SOU's top returning goal scorers are senior Mustafa Daggig and junior Ariel De Dios Cruz. Daggig has accumulated 16 goals and five assists in 55 career appearances for the Raiders, while De Dios Cruz tallied six goals and an assist through the first five games of 2025 before going down with a season-ending injury that undeniably altered the team's ceiling. The availability of both is in question to start the fall, but several reinforcements are on hand.

Freshman Jaden Velasquez-Soto, out of Reno's Hug High, will get a chance to contribute immediately. He put up preposterous numbers as a senior (20 goals, 18 assists) on his way to becoming Northern Nevada's High Desert Offensive Player of the Year. JP Warnell – who totaled 13 goals and four assists as a sophomore at Clark C.C. (Wash.) – transferred in from Cal Poly Humboldt, Shiloh Liberman joined from Emory & Henry (Va.), and the aforementioned Ahmed can also move into the attack. Senior captain Zach Browning could get more opportunities in his second season with the team, and Nick Lozano will be utilized as a winger after earning six starts as a freshman on defense.

"We had a hard time finding goals last year when we lost (De Dios Cruz)," Carmichael said. "It'll be great to get him back but I hope we're a lot deeper in the attack."