ASHLAND, Ore. – Jake Groh and Jose Porras each scored a goal to lead Carroll College to a 2-1 road win over Southern Oregon in Cascade Conference play Friday.
 
Groh opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a goal off a corner kick. He received the ball from Alessio Georgiades and turned and buried the ball in the net for the 1-0 lead.
 
In the 30th minute, Isaac Bostrom was fouled on an attempted header in the SOU box setting up a Carroll penalty kick. Porras buried the ball past the keeper for the 2-0 lead.
 
SOU answered just two minutes later with a 20-yard shot from Greg Rapet to cut the Carroll advantage to 2-1.
 
What looked like an offensive battle suddenly turned into a defensive stalemate.
 
The Raiders and Saints mustered a combined total of nine shots on goal, including just three combined in the second half.
 
Groh's goal was his third in two games, he scored two against Evergreen a week ago but missed the game against Northwest for ROTC training. They are also his first three goals of the season for the junior captain.
 
"He only had one goal last season and now has three this season," head coach Doug Mello said. "He has been on a roll and he has been in the right place in the right time.  He has a lot of confidence and he has to ride the wave of confidence. "
 
The Saints have now won three straight games and the difference has been Carroll's ability to close out games.
 
"We stopped playing tentatively," Mello said. "We are playing with a lot more aggression in the second half, we are dictating the flow of play. The backline is really pushing the ball forward and keeping us on the attack. Braden Wall has stepped into the lineup and played very well to spur some change there."
 
The win streak has allowed the Saints to jump up in the conference standings. They will look to close out the season strong and improve their tournament seed.
 
"We are peaking at the right time and we feel confident," Mello said. "There is a lot of work to do but I think we are in a great spot as a team."
 
Carroll closes out the road trip at Oregon Tech tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.