OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Southern Oregon men's soccer team's sudden flair for the dramatic stayed alight in Saturday's 2-1 win at Evergreen State (Wash.), giving the Raiders a six-point weekend to start Cascade Conference play.
Ariel De Dios Cruz leveled the score in the 82nd minute and
Jonathan Gaspar punched in another game-winner in the 85th, a day after his goal with 13 seconds remaining made SOU a 2-1 victor at Northwest (Wash.).
The Raiders remained unbeaten at 5-0-1 overall, while the Geoducks (2-1-3, 0-1-1) had their loss column dented for the first time.
Gaspar's decisive goal on Friday was the latest of the game-winning variety, excepting overtimes, in SOU history. Before he and De Dios Cruz struck on Saturday, the Raiders had never tallied both an equalizer and a winner in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
De Dios Cruz, a junior forward from Eugene, returned to the field this weekend for the first time since scoring six goals through the first five games of 2025 and suffering a season-ending injury in the sixth. He took a through-ball from
Michael Mutchukian and struck from 16 yards out for his first goal in the fall, jolting the Raiders alive after Evergreen had taken a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute on an Angel Sandoval shot.
De Dios Cruz then assisted Gaspar, who took the ball in the box and drilled in into the corner of the goal.
Gaspar has scored three goals in six appearances this year. He didn't score any during his All-CCC campaign last year.
Daniel Espinosa made three saves for SOU and Evergreen's Tom Cole had four. Both teams played a man down after a pair of red cards were issued in the 42nd minute.
SOU plays next Friday at Oregon Tech, which went 1-0-1 in its first CCC games.
