COMING UP: at Walla Walla, Friday, 12 p.m.; at Rocky Mountain, Sunday, 3:30 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION:  Fans will be able to follow both weekend matches online – with Friday's game at Walla Walla available on the WWU StretchLive Portal, with Sunday's game at Rocky Mountain available via YouTube. Both matches will have Live Stats available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
TIME CHANGE: Friday's match at Walla Walla has been pushed up to 12 p.m. due to staffing issues at WWU, while Sunday's match at Rocky has been pushed back to 3:30 p.m. to accommodate the Cascade Conference protocol of 40 minutes between women's and men's matches.
 
MULTIMEDIA: All photos from the 2024 season (including the weekend matches vs. C of I and Eastern Oregon) will be posted online via the OIT Men's Soccer Flickr Page, while highlight clips will be posted online via the OIT Men's Soccer YouTube Channel. In addition, full home game replays are available on the Owls Sports Network under the Live tab.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WALLA WALLA: Tech opens the road swing at Walla Walla, as the Wolves (0-5, 0-5 CCC) are mired in a 42-match losing streak, dating back to the 2021 season. WWU has been outscored 25-1 in 2024, with opponents holding a 116-23 edge in shots and a 41-3 edge in corner kicks. Jonathan Rogne (1 goal) has the Wolves lone goal on the year and Sean Salma (6 shots) is the top offensive threat, with the team led by 4-year starter Vinicius Silva and 2-year starter Andres Espinel. Keeper Sebastian Vargas (5.25 GAA) has logged the most minutes in goal. OIT is 7-1 all-time vs. WWU (lone loss via forfeit), having outscored the Wolves 34-3 all-time in College Place.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – ROCKY MOUNTAIN: The trip ends in the easternmost reaches of the CCC, squaring off against a much-improved Rocky Mountain side. The Battlin' Bears (3-4, 2-2) dropped 1-goal decisions in preseason against high-caliber teams from Dalton State and Georgia Gwinnett, topped D-II MSU-Billings and earned a 4-3 win over College of Idaho. Three-year starters Igor Soares (3 goals) and Angel Mange (1 assist) are the leaders of the squad, with Espior Mayele (2 goals, 2 assists) and Nolan Finch (2 goals) key to the attack, while returning keeper Stefan Schenk (2.22 GAA) anchors the defense. OIT started 0-8 all-time vs. Rocky before winning the past three meetings, including a 3-2 decision last year in Klamath.
 
LONG, LONG TRIP: Every other year, the Walla Walla-Rocky Mountain trip is a logistical nightmare for both OIT and Southern Oregon – a 2,000-mile round trip journey. This year, the Owls will leave Wednesday and make the nine-hour trek to Walla Walla via rental vans and play the Noon counter on Friday. Tech will fly Saturday, making the Walla Walla-Seattle-Billings connection and play Sunday along the Yellowstone River, before flying home immediately after the contest.
 
FOUR POINTS AT HOME: Following a rough trip to the Valley, Tech returned home against two quality opponents – facing the top offense in the CCC (College of Idaho) and one of the top defenses in the CCC (Eastern Oregon). Against C of I, the Owls put three shots on frame, finding the net on all three attempts in a 3-1 win (the lone goal allowed coming off an 86th minute set piece), while against EOU, OIT got a game-tying goal in the second half to earn a crucial point in the table.
 
FRESHMAN MAKES HIS MARK: True freshman Cash Cota has made an impact over his first 11 collegiate games, posting two goals and a team-best three assists. Cota was a part of three of the four weekend goals – serving solid crosses in both the C of I and EOU games, while capitalizing on a defensive miscue to score the eventual game-winner vs. C of I.
 
GARCIA WITH A BRACE: Tech got a big boost against College of Idaho from transfer Manny Garcia, who posted the first two goals of his OIT career in the victory. Garcia opened the scoring, knocking home a back-post finish following a defensive breakdown, with his second goal coming off a cross during a counter-attack. The first-year Hustlin' Owl is one of six players with 2-or-more goals this season.
 
SWISS ARMY KNIFE: During his OIT career, Ben Bradshaw has become one of the more versatile players – seeing action as a forward, as a midfielder and as a defender. Earning the start on Saturday as an outside back, Bradshaw pushed forward and scored the equalizing goal – his second of the season – and just missed a game-winner, hitting a 25-yard rocket off the crossbar in the waning moments.
 
IRON MEN: The duo of Cooper Hunt and Ryan Solis each played all 90 minutes in the matches vs. C of I and Eastern – continuing their streak of minutes played this season to 990. Two others have played at least 900 minutes in 2024 – Bridger Meyer (984) and Sylver Schweiger (921), with Andrew Pasang (849) and Lennyn Solis (843) each playing more than 800 minutes.
 
PLAYING AT HOME: Since the OIT Soccer Field was transitioned from natural grass to an artificial turf surface in 2017, the Owls have posted a 39-11-5 record on their own pitch. Since 2020, Tech has dominated foes, recording a 30-6-4 home record, including a 3-1-1 mark this year.
 
HOME SHUTOUT STREAK CONTINUES: The Owls extended their home streak without being shutout to 26 games – scoring in both the C of I and Eastern matches. The last home shutout of Tech occurred in 2021, a loss to Southern Oregon.
 
MCMANAMON CLOSING IN: Head coach Sean McManamon heads into weekend play with a career record of 29-13-4 – the second-most wins in program history. The third-year skipper is three victories away from setting a new OIT men's soccer coaching wins record, as Matt Munhall won 31 games from 2012-18.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Three teams continued their winning ways last weekend – as Warner Pacific swept Northwest and Evergreen State, Southern Oregon swept C of I and Eastern, with Carroll earning wins over Corban and Bushnell – with Carroll and SOU the lone unbeaten CCC teams remaining. This weekend, OIT and SOU head to Walla Walla and Rocky Mountain, Bushnell and Corban go to Evergreen State and Northwest, with Carroll and Providence making the trip to C of I and EOU.
 
TOURNAMENT TO BE PLAYED CLOSE TO HOME: After a nine-year run in Springfield, the Cascade Conference Championships has changed venues – with the 8-team event heading to Medford and the Lithia & Driveway Fields Complex. Quarterfinal dates are set for Sunday, Nov. 10, semifinal games will be played Tuesday, Nov. 12, with the title game set for Thursday, Nov. 14. All CCC Tournament games will be streamed through Table Rock Sports.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, the Owls rank No. 5 in the circuit in shots per game (13.00) and assists per game (1.36), ranking No. 7 in goals against average (1.55) and corner kicks per game (4.91), No. 8 in fouls per game (11.91) and No. 10 in goals per game (1.45). Individually, Ryan Solis is No. 3 in the league in shutouts (2) and No. 7 in goals against average (1.55), with Cash Cota No. 8 in assists (3).
 
RECORD BOOK: Three players are currently ranked among the Top-20 the OIT all-time career record book. Andrew Pasang shares the all-time record for penalty kick conversions (7), ranking No. 2 all-time in goals scored (26), assists (19), total points (71) and game-winning goals (9), ranking No. 5 in total shot attempts (124); Ryan Solis is No. 3 in goalie wins (13), No. 4 in shutouts (9) and No. 8 in saves (85); with Kevin Rodriguez No. 10 in assists (10).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Hustlin' Owls return home next weekend, welcoming two Montana schools to the Basin – hosting the University of Providence (Oct. 18 | 2:30 p.m.) and Carroll College (Oct. 19 | 2:30 p.m.) – part of a 3-match homestand.