The Southern Oregon women’s soccer team wrapped up the regular season this weekend with a loss to Concordia followed by a win over Warner Pacific to clinch a spot in the playoffs for the first time in two years.
The Raiders have ended the regular season having recorded the most wins in a season in the program’s history by posting a 12-4-2 overall while ending conference play at 6-2-1.
Southern Oregon faced off against top-ranked Concordia and were unable to overcome an early 1-0 deficit courtesy of Alex Thomas’ 12 minute strike to knock off the Conference champions.
“The margin of victory between two good teams is usually small,†said head coach Jon Clement. “If you make an error against a good team, it’s going to hurt you.â€
The Raiders had several chances through strikers Stephanie Carr and Alexis Mahoney, who each finished with two shots for the Raiders.
Kennedy Roteman and Denise Powell each had chances late in the second half but the Concordia defense managed to stay strong to deny Southern Oregon the draw.
The loss dropped the Raiders from second to third in the conference standings, making Saturday’s game against Warner Pacific a must win in order to guarantee a spot in the playoffs.
Against Warner Pacific, Southern Oregon quickly recovered from their narrow loss to Concordia to record a solid 2-0 win over their opponents courtesy of goals by freshmen Ashton Griffen and Kennedy Roteman.
The win booked the Raiders a date with No. 2 seeded Corban, who earlier this season recorded a 1-0 overtime victory over Southern Oregon.
“Our objective in the program has changed,†Clement said. “Now it’s about not only getting in the playoffs, but winning it.â€
When Southern Oregon travels to Corban this Saturday, the Raiders will be the ones looking to emerge victorious this time around.
