Image Credit Bob Palermini, www.palermini.com
Southern Oregon University Athletics
This weekend was filled with fierce competition from our Raider athletics. Down below is a quick recap of all the events:
Football
Saturday
The football team hosted Montana Tech. The Raiders started the game off strong with a touchdown pass from Matt Struck to redshirt freshman Jackson Clemmer in the first quarter. The kick from Cesar Ruiz brought the game score to 7-0 in the first quarter, but the energy quickly shifted in favor of Montana Tech, who scored three additional touchdowns in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Montana scored two more touchdowns, bringing the score to 34-7. After an injury, Struck was taken out of the game but replaced by redshirt freshman Blake Asciutto. Asciutto completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Goggin. The score after another successful field goal from Ruiz was 34-14 in the third quarter. The Raiders, unable to score but keeping a strong defense against Montana, ended the game at 34-14. The loss put the Raiders in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Frontier Conference standings. The next home game for the Raiders will be this Homecoming weekend.
Cross Country
Saturday
Men’s
The men’s team placed first in the William Jessup Warrior Invite! The Cascade Conference also named the men’s cross country team as the Under Armour Team of the Week. The men’s team scored 46 points to put them in first. They had three finishers in the top ten. Issac Fernandez, a junior from Yreka, CA, was the runner-up in the 8,000-meter course with a time of 24 minutes and 23.5 seconds. Following up behind Fernandez was senior Kevin Vandyke, who was less than three seconds behind. Finishing in the 7th spot was Alex Harbert-Castro, a senior from Lake Oswego, OR. The men’s team is currently holding the 16th ranked spot for the NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll. The win at Jessup was the second time this season that the men’s team had placed first.
Women’s
The women’s team placed 3rd in the Jessup invite-only trailing behind College of Idaho and Westmont. Sydnee Kizziar, a junior from Folsom, CA, placed 7th in the 5k course. Right behind Kizziar was Kayla Clayton, a junior from Salinas, CA, who placed 11th just seconds shy of being part of the top ten finishers. Although the women’s team placed third at this invitational, similar to the men’s team, they have placed first in two others. Currently, the women’s team is ranked 10th nationally according to the NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Both men’s and women’s teams will be competing in the Cascade Conference Championships on November 5th in Klamath Falls, OR!
Men’s Soccer
Sunday
The men’s soccer team competed against Corban University for an emotionally heated win. The Raiders beat Corban 2-0. The two goals of the game were from sophomore Alan Gaytan and from senior Renee Resendez. Between yellow cards (at one point the entire Raider bench) and a few Raiders going down with injuries, the game was an aggressive shutout. The win against Corban put the men’s team to 9-2 in conference. They are currently ranked third in the Cascade Conference and have clinched a playoff berth. The men’s team has two more regular-season games against Warner Pacific and Multnomah.
Women’s Soccer
Friday
The women’s team shutdown the Bushnell Beacons in a crushing 3-0 win. The win against the Beacons put the Raiders to 7-2 for the conference season and tied for second place in the conference. The three goals of the game came from Phoebe Bunn, Natalie Paul, and Gabbie Johnson. The first score of the game came from junior midfielder Johnson. She scored shortly before the end of the first half. The second score came from junior midfielder/forward Bunn, who was set up for success from teammate Jasmine Gray. Gray drew the foul for a penalty kick. The last score of the afternoon came from senior midfielder/forward Paul.
Sunday
The women Raiders finished off Corban in a 2-0 win. The win brought them to 8-2 in the Cascade Conference but didn’t move them in the standings. Similar to the men’s soccer team, they also clinched a playoff berth for the Cascade Conference Tournament. The win against Corban was their third consecutive win. The two scores of the game came from Baylee Touey, a sophomore forward, and Natalie Paul, making it her second goal of the weekend. The shutout was made possible because of senior goalie Jessie Selby, who had six saves on the night. And a special highlight goes out to Selby for being named WVT Laboratory Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week! The women’s team has two more regular-season games remaining against Warner Pacific and Multnomah.
Check out the remaining Fall sports schedule for each sport below:
