Raider Soccer Program Splits the Day Against Carroll College

Southern Oregon University Athletics

Saturday was an intense day for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams. The men’s team lost to Carroll College 2-1 in overtime and the women’s team beat Carroll 3-1 for their fourth straight win. The men’s team is 5-2 in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) while the women’s team is currently 5-1.

Men’s Game

The men’s team did not go down easily against Carroll. They forced the game into two overtimes and a total of 109 game clock minutes. During the entire game, the Raider defenders were relentless against Carroll, but it wasn’t enough. Carroll scored a 10-yard shot in the second overtime bringing the final score 2-1. Adrian Villegas, a junior midfielder/forward, made the only score for the Raiders. Adrian’s header score was in the second half of the game and brought the score to 1-1. The loss against Carroll was only the men’s second of the conference season. Their current standing in the CCC is fourth place, trailing right behind Warner Pacific. With that in mind, Adrian had some great words about the game, his favorite moment of the year, and is looking forward to the rest of the season: 

Favorite moment this year? 

“Definitely the game-winner against Rocky [Mountain College]. That’s been a really great moment and then also the goal I scored against Northwest. It was a tough game. We knew Northwest was a strong team, and they scored right at the beginning of the game. I was able to get on the scoresheet and that was my first score, I think, of the CCC. So, it was a great moment.” 

Knowing this is only the second loss in conference season and sets the team at 5-2, how are you feeling moving forward? 

“We are still motivated. This one definitely stings. We sent everything in this one and everything we had to win this game. But, unfortunately, they got the counter and scored on us. It stings and it is only our second loss, so we just gotta win out. We already know what we have to do. Starting Monday, we’re gonna get back into the lab and start training, like what we usually do, and prepare for College of Idaho and Eastern. We’re still positive. We still have our heads up and we’re still Raiders so we still gotta keep going”

Photo Credit Jennah Michaels
Photo Credit Jennah Michaels

Women’s Game

The women’s game was a little rocky at first when Carroll got the first score of the afternoon, but Carroll was quickly shut down when the women’s Raiders put on the heat. The Raiders were only trailing for a few minutes before they fired back with a goal from Kaya Baird, a senior defender/midfielder. Baird’s score brought the game to 1-1, but even the tie was short-lived. Minutes later, Ruth Hegstad, a senior midfielder, with an assist from Malaika Quigley, a sophomore midfielder, scored the second point of the evening. Hegstad’s score brought the game to 2-1 in the first period. It was the second half when the Raiders put the beat down. Quigley had a header goal with the assist from Trinity Rhoades, a senior defender, which brought the final score to 3-1. The women’s team did not let up on their defense or give Carroll any chance of scoring. After the game, a quick chat with senior Kaya Baird gave some insight to the team, their goals for the rest of the season, and some thoughts on senior year:

Thoughts and feelings on senior year, making it through COVID, and what this year means to you? 

“It means a lot, honestly. Last year was completely different, no fall season, preseason, or traveling outside. It didn’t feel normal, but once we came back, there was that “ahh finally” moment. Senior year… it’s just emotional, and we’re riding a wave right now.”

Thoughts on being bumped up in the CCC standings and now being 5-1 in the season? How are you feeling as a team and moving forward with the rest of the season and goals that you have? 

Overall goal, as always, is to go to nationals and everyone is on board with that. We’re trying to win the conference and we all know that we’re together. We just know what we want, we know what we need to do to succeed, and we’re just trying to get there.”

Catch the next men’s and women’s away games against the College of Idaho, October 15th at 3 PM and 5:30 PM through the broadcast! Or watch the next home games for the men’s and women’s teams on October 22nd against Bushnell at 1 PM and 3:30 PM at Raider Stadium.

You can watch both games through this broadcast link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sou/.

To see the remaining season matchups for the men’s and women’s teams, click the links below: 

https://souraiders.com/sports/mens-soccer/schedule

https://souraiders.com/sports/womens-soccer/schedule

To see the overall CCC standings for the men’s and women’s teams, click the links below:

Men’s – https://cascadeconference.org/standings.aspx?standings=118 

Women’s – https://cascadeconference.org/standings.aspx?standings=119 

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