Oregon Institute of Technology Athletics

COMING UP: vs. College of Idaho, Friday, 2:30 p.m.; vs. Eastern Oregon, Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
 
WATCH LIVE: Fans unable to get to the Basin for the weekend matches vs. Rocky Mountain and Providence will be able to watch the game live on the Owls Sports Network with Mike Safford calling the action. Live Stats will also be available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
ROAD WARRIORS: Big wins for the Owls at Walla Walla and Carroll helped the squad improve to 4-0 on the road in Cascade Conference play and 4-0-1 this season away from Klamath Falls. Tech has an 11-match unbeaten streak in true road contests, dating back to September of 2021.
 
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: For the third time in program history, OIT scored 10 goals in a match, as the Owls cruised to a 10-0 victory last Friday at Walla Walla. It was the third-highest scoring match by a Tech team – as the 2016 squad posted a 12-0 win over Walla Walla and the 2015 team defeated Multnomah, 11-0. The Owls tied a school mark with eight assists, while the 28 points tallied in the victory was the No. 2 mark in program history. OIT set a new mark for goals in a 3-game stretch, as the 21 goals scored (5 vs. Rocky Mountain, 6 vs. Providence, 10 vs. Walla Walla) surpassed the previous mark of 20 goals in 3-straight games during the 2016 season.
 
O'NEILL CONTINUES SCORING BINGE: After recording a brace in back-to-back matches, Cade O'Neill upped his output against Walla Walla, recording his first career hat trick in the road win. The 3-goal game was the 11th in OIT program history and first since Brock Rideout posted a hat track against the same WWU team in 2021. It was the ninth 3-goal match by an Owl player, while two players have registered four goals in a contest (Victor Corona in 2010 vs. Bushnell, Casey Oltman in 2015 vs. Trinity Lutheran).
 
PASANG TIES RECORD: Andrew Pasang had a huge afternoon in Washington, scoring a goal and adding three assists in the win at Walla Walla. The sophomore tied the OIT school record for single-game assists, joining current teammate John Sarna and former teammate Jake Mitchell, who each had three assists in a match during the 2021 season. Pasang leads the squad with five assists on the season, ranking fifth in the Cascade Conference.
 
INTO THE SCORING ACT: Multiple players were involved in the scoring over the weekend – including Kevin Rodriguez, who notched a brace in the win over Walla Walla, with Rosendo Juarez-Flores recording goals in both the WWU and Carroll matches. Hunter Hoogerwerf scored his third goal of the year vs. WWU, with Ellis Harwood and Reilly Combs adding their second goals of the season in the Friday win.
 
FROM THE SPOT: Dylan Nakagawa scored his first career goal at Carroll, converting a penalty kick that providing the winning margin in the 2-1 road victory. With the conversion, the Owls are now 4-for-4 on chances from the penalty spot in 2022.
 
SHARING TIME IN GOAL: For the first time this season, keeper Joel Watts saw time on the bench – as Connor Caslin made his debut in the second half at Walla Walla. The duo needed to make just one save to complete the Owls fifth clean sheet of 2022. Two days later, Watts played the full 90 minutes at Carroll, picking up his 24th career victory.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Warner Pacific remained unbeaten on the season, running their record to 12-0 with a road win at Multnomah. Both Portland teams will play host to Northwest and Evergreen this weekend. Corban remained a game back in the standings, with the Warriors and Bushnell traveling to Rocky Mountain and Providence, while College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon head to Southern Oregon and OIT – as C of I and SOU sit tied in fourth-place, a game behind Corban and OIT. Carroll and Walla Walla round out the schedule with a date in Washington.
 
RETURNING HOME: OIT returns home this weekend, putting a 4-match win streak on the line against College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon. Though the Owls are 2-1-1 on their own pitch this season, Tech has had success at home over the past four seasons, combining for a 19-4-2 record in Klamath Falls since 2019.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The Coyotes (7-3-1, 5-2) are riding a 3-match win streak and are off to their best start since 2008 – outscoring their foes, 29-13 (including a 14-3 margin in the first half). Freshman Eric Hornung (6 goals) paces the C of I attack, joined by All-CCC midfielder Caio Pereira (4 goals, 4 assists) and All-CCC defender Emil Powles (1 goal). Transfer keeper Tom Baynard-Smith (1.18 GAA, .730 save %) has played the bulk of the minutes in goal. Tech won last season's meeting at C of I, but the Yotes hold a 17-3 series edge – including seven wins in the Basin.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EASTERN OREGON: The Mountaineers (6-5-1, 3-4) look to remain in the postseason chase after splitting home matches last weekend vs. Rocky Mountain and Providence. The EOU offense has scored 14 goals in their 12 matches, paced by the duo of Max Rose (4 goals, 1 assist) and Edgar Perez (1 goal, 2 assists), while goalie Dalton Mauzay (1.42 GAA, .741 save %) has done his part to keep the Mounties in matches. OIT holds a 5-1-1 series edge against Eastern, including a perfect 3-0 mark in Klamath Falls.
 
RECORD BOOK: Five OIT players are among the Top-20 in the program's all-time record book following Saturday's contest. Both John Sarna and Brock Rideout are tied for the all-time game-winning goals record (7) – with Sarna No. 1 in total shots (135) and No. 3 in points (45), goals scored (16) and in assists (13), while Rideout is No. 2 in goals scored (18) and in points (48), ranking No. 5 in assists (12) and No. 6 and shots (108). Joel Witts holds the all-time record for goalie wins (24) and shutouts (12); Cade O'Neil is No. 5 in shots (113), No. 8 in goals (14) and No. 10 in points (35); with Andrew Pasang No. 10 in assists (9), No. 16 in points (25) and No. 18 in goals (8).
 
NEW OVERTIME RULES: The 2022 season will feature a new set of rules for games tied at the end of regulation. Beginning this year, any regular-season match that is tied after 90 minutes will be declared a draw – no overtime period will be played. All postseason games that are tied after 90 minutes will feature two 10-minute overtime periods – that will be played out in its entirety – regardless of how many goals are scored. If the postseason overtime period ends in a tie, a penalty shootout will determine the team that advances.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: OIT closes out the road portion of the regular-season with games at Corban (Oct. 22) and Bushnell (Oct. 23).