COMING UP: at Carroll College, Friday, 2 p.m.; at University of Providence, Saturday, 1 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Friday's match-up at Carroll College will feature Video only available through the Veo Mobile App (search Carroll College Soccer), with Saturday's game at the University of Providence streamed live on the UP YouTube Channel. Live Stats for both matches will be available via OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
MULTIMEDIA: All photos from the 2023 season will be posted online via the OIT Men's Soccer Flickr Page, while highlight clips and interviews will be posted online via the new OIT Men's Soccer YouTube Channel.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – CARROLL COLLEGE: The story of the Cascade Conference season has been the emergence of Carroll College as a title contender, as the Fighting Saints (6-2-2, 6-1-1 CCC) sit atop the league table. The Montana side has outscored their opponents, 17-9, while taking twice as many shots (158-78) as their foes. Forward Enrico Paparelli (5 goals) has been the go-to offensive threat for the Saints, with Caleb Hoxie (3 goals), Michal Mojzis (2 goals, 3 assists) and Luke Rosenberger (2 goals, 1 assist) key contributors in the attacking third. Keeper Juan Mun Navarrette (0.62 GAA, 14 saves, .737 S%) anchors a defense that has allowed just 25 shots on frame in 10 matches.
 
HISTORY VS. THE FIGHTING SAINTS: The Owls and Carroll meet for the eighth time in Friday's opener, with OIT taking a 2-match win streak into the contest. The two sides played to a 1-1 tie in the first meeting in 2015, with Tech's 2-1 victory in Helena last season evening up the all-time series at 3-3-1.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – UNIVERSITY OF PROVIDENCE: It has been a bounce-back season for the University of Providence, as the Argos (6-4-2, 4-2-2) bring a 4-match unbeaten streak into the weekend – coming off consecutive 1-1 draws to College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon – with their six wins equaling the total from the past two seasons combined. Tech will have to contend with the CCC's leading scorer, Jose Vasquez (10 goals), along with top playmakers Tomeu Nebot (3 goals, 2 assists) and Geovanni Lugo (2 goals, 4 assists). Keeper Teddy Benbow (2.00 GAA, 41 saves, .719 S%) has played the bulk of the minutes in goal.
 
HISTORY VS. THE ARGOS: Saturday's date in the Electric City will be the ninth meeting between the schools, with the all-time series deadlocked a 4-4. The two teams met first in 2008 – a neutral site game in Newberg won by the Argos, with OIT earning their first win in the series in 2017. Last season, the Owls scored five second half goals to earn the most lopsided game in series history, a 6-0 victory in the Basin.
 
MONTANA AWAITS THE OWLS: Tech jumps on an airplane this week to alleviate the potential 2,000-mile round trip from the Basin to Montana – the Owls ninth trip to the Treasure State. OIT is a combined 3-9 all-time in Montana – 1-5 in Billings and 1-2 in both Helena and Great Falls – with the Owls riding a 3-match win streak in the state, having topped Providence and Rocky Mountain in 2021 and earning a 2-1 win over Carroll in Helena last season.
 
SUCCESS ON THE TURF: Since the OIT Soccer Field was transitioned from natural grass to an artificial turf surface in 2017, the Owls have posted a 34-10-4 record on their own pitch. Over the last four seasons, Tech has dominated foes, recording a 25-5-3 home record, including a 3-1 mark in 2023.
 
PASANG'S BIG WEEKEND NETS CONFERENCE AWARD: Two big efforts in helping OIT pick up back-to-back home victories earned Andrew Pasang his first Cascade Conference Player of the Week honor. The junior opened the weekend with a goal and two assists in the come-from-behind win against Rocky Mountain, adding a hat trick and a helper vs. Walla Walla. The four goals and three assists by Pasang vaulted the midfielder into the team scoring lead and now ranks among the Top-5 in the CCC in goals, assists and points.
 
HAT TRICKS: Andrew Pasang became the 11th OIT player to record a hat trick in a game with his 3-goal effort against Walla Walla and the third-straight season an OIT player has recorded a hat trick. Pasang joins former teammate John Sarna as the only players to record a 3-goal game and a 3-assist game during their careers. The seven points (3 goals, 1 assist) in the victory was the fifth 7-point game by a Tech player – the first time a Hustlin' Owl had achieved the mark since 2015 (Casey Oltman vs. Trinity Lutheran).
 
FIVE GOALS IN A MATCH: The five goals scored by the Hustlin' Owls in Sunday's win over Walla Walla was the 23rd time an OIT team has scored 5-or-more goals in a match, improving to 23-0 when scoring at least five goals. It was the 12th time Tech has scored exactly five goals, with the team scoring six goals four times, scoring seven goals on three occasions, while scoring nine, 10, 11 and 12 goals in a match once.
 
LATE GAME HEROICS: Tech needed a rally to earn three key points vs. Rocky Mountain – scoring the game-tying and go-ahead goal inside the final three minutes of the match. Ryan Pearson headed home the equalizer in the 88th minute, with Dylan Nakagawa lining home a 12-yard shot into the right corner of the net with 59 seconds on the clock. It marked the fifth game-tying or game-winning goal by the Hustlin' Owls inside the final minute of play – joining a Pasang penalty kick with 20 seconds left to tie Menlo 1-1 in 2022; a Jake Mitchell penalty kick to defeat Evergreen State, 2-1, in 2021; a Riley Combs header with 30 seconds remaining to force overtime in a 2021 CCC Tournament match with Southern Oregon; and a Leonardo Alonzo header to tie Warner Pacific in 2017.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Carroll College made a statement last weekend, sweeping Eastern Oregon and previously unbeaten College of Idaho to join C of I atop the league standings, while Southern Oregon ran their win streak to three with a pair of home victories. Carroll and Providence have their second-straight tough weekend – hosting OIT and SOU; Northwest and Evergreen State tackle the logistically tough Rocky Mountain/Walla Walla trip; with Warner Pacific and Multnomah making the short drive to Bushnell and Corban.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Three weekends remain in the conference schedule, with the Owls sitting one full game out of first place in the CCC table (with 16 points) – and matches against two of the teams ahead of them (Carroll, Southern Oregon) left on the docket. OIT has a 7-point lead on the final postseason spot (currently Northwest and Corban at nine points), as the Owls look to qualify for the postseason for the seventh-straight season (after missing out on the playoffs during the first eight years of the program). The Top-8 teams in the final CCC standings will qualify for the CCC Championships, set for Nov. 6-10 in Springfield, Ore.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a squad, the Owls lead the CCC in shutouts (6), ranking No. 2 in assists per game (1.83), No. 3 in fewest yellow cards (13), No. 5 in goals against average (1.00), No. 6 in goals scored (2.08) and No. 10 in shots per game (12.50). Individually, Andrew Pasang leads the CCC in assists (7), ranking No. 3 in points (21) and No. 5 in goals scored (7); Ryan Solis leads the league in shutouts (6), ranking No. 5 in save percentage (.807) and No. 6 in goals against average (1.00); with Ryan Pearson No. 4 in assists (5).
 
RECORD BOOK: Four players rank among the Top-10 in the career men's soccer record book – led by Brock Rideout, who holds the OIT mark for career points scored (65), goals (23), game-winning goals (9), assists (19) and games played (79). Andrew Pasang is right on Rideout's heels, ranking No. 2 in points scored (55), goals scored (19) and assists (17), with Ryan Solis No. 4 in shutouts (6) and Ryan Pearson ranking No. 7 in assists (12).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Owls close out a 3-match road swing with their annual rivalry game against Southern Oregon, set for next Friday (4 p.m.) in Ashland.