COMING UP: at No. 25 Southern Oregon, Friday, 4 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Friday's match-up at Southern Oregon will be carried live on the Owls Sports Network (PPV-produced by SOU), with Live Stats available via OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal. For fans making the short trip to Ashland, general admission tickets for the doubleheader are $5.00.
 
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 – SOUTHERN OREGON: The Owls will meet a Top-25 team for the first time in 2023, as No. 25-ranked Southern Oregon hosts their rivals. The Raiders (12-2, 8-1) take a 5-match win streak into the contest – with their lone league loss a 1-0 setback at College of Idaho.  SOU has outscored foes (34-10) with a physical style, leading the league in fouls and yellow cards – with Adrian Villegas (9 goals, 9 assists), Evan Norconk (8 goals, 1 assist), Alan Gaytan (3 goals, 6 assists) and Sky Charley-Bolyard (4 goals, 1 assist) the top playmakers. Keeper Casey Ruvolo (0.74 GAA, 47 saves, .825 S%) has been key to the Raiders success.
 
RIVALRY MATCH-UP: The OIT-SOU series began in 2015, with Southern dominating the first nine matches, holding a 7-1-1 series edge. Tech's lone win came in 2019, as a John Sarna goal in overtime gave the Owls a 1-0 win. Last season, SOU scored three unanswered goals to top OIT, 3-2, in the Basin. It marks OIT head coach Sean McManamon's first trip back to Raider Stadium since his playing/coaching days at SOU – with the Owls searching for their first road victory in the series (Tech is 0-4 at SOU, failing to score a goal in the four matches).
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Two teams have secured spots in the 8-team Cascade Conference Championships – as Southern Oregon and College of Idaho have punched their tickets. The Owls can clinch their seventh-straight postseason berth with a victory in one of their final three matches, or a loss/tie by Corban and Eastern Oregon. Providence holds the No. 8 spot – four points in the table ahead of Corban, Eastern, Rocky Mountain and Multnomah. The CCC Championships are set for Nov. 6-10 in Springfield, Ore.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Outside of the short drive over the hill for OIT to meet SOU, the remaining CCC teams have long trips set for them this weekend. Rocky Mountain and Walla Walla head to Multnomah and Warner Pacific, Providence and Carroll trek to Evergreen State and Northwest, with Corban and Bushnell set for key matches at Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho.
 
KEY ROAD TRIP: OIT ran their unbeaten streak to four matches, rallying for a 2-2 draw at Carroll before a dominating 6-0 win at Providence. The Owls trailed 2-0 inside the final 15 minutes, before a penalty kick and an own goal – in the span of four minutes – evened the score. A day later, Dalton Rideout had his second brace of the season and DeShone Myles had a goal and an assist in the victory.
 
SIX GOALS IN ROAD WIN: The 6-goal outburst at Providence marked the fourth time in program history the Owls have scored 6-or-more goals in a road game. The 2023 squad joined the 2016 team (12-0 win at Walla Walla), the 2019 team (7-0 win at Walla Walla) and the 2022 team (10-0 win at Walla Walla) in the exclusive club.
 
PLAYING WITH THE LEAD: A lead in a game has been critical for the Owls, as OIT has allowed just two goals this season while holding a lead. Tech has scored first in seven matches – posting a perfect 7-0 mark in the games – surrendering only single goals in wins over OUAZ and Walla Walla.
 
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 (57), goals scored (20) and assists (17), with Ryan Solis No. 4 in shutouts (7) and Ryan Pearson ranking No. 6 in assists (13).
 
NEXT WEEK: Tech closes out the regular-season at home with games against Northwest (Oct. 29) and Evergreen State (Oct. 30). Due to scheduling conflicts at Southern Oregon, the entire weekend schedule was altered to Sunday-Monday. Senior Day for the Hustlin' Owls is set for Sunday between the men's and women's game – with the 2023 senior class to be recognized.