COMING UP: at Corban, Friday, 2:30 p.m.; at Bushnell, Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION:  For fans unable to make the trip to the Valley for the weekend contests, Friday's match at Corban will be streamed (pay-per-view) via Corban's HUDL TV, with Saturday's match at Bushnell (played at Eugene's Civic Park) streamed live on the Bushnell YouTube Channel. Both matches will have Live Stats available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
MULTIMEDIA: All photos from the 2024 season 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 – CORBAN: Tech opens the road portion of the Cascade Conference schedule at Corban, facing a Warriors (2-4, 1-0 CCC) side that has advanced to eight NAIA National Tournaments over the past 11 seasons. The 2024 squad uncharacteristically lost three non-league games to Division III opponents (George Fox, Willamette, Linfield), but opening CCC play with a win at Bushnell. Corban has struggled defensively at times, surrendering 15 goals, 39 corner kicks and 101 shots – but return All-CCC midfielder Irwin Leon (1 goal), while freshmen Zachary Milczarek (2 goals) and Jose Guzman (3 assists) have paced the attack. In goal, junior keeper Isaac Pureco (2.36 GAA, .675 save pct) is the starter. The Warriors have dominated the all-time series, recording a 20-4-1 all-time record vs. OIT – including a 12-0-1 record in Salem – but the Owls are 2-1-1 in the past four meetings.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BUSHNELL: Saturday sees the Owls travel an hour south to Eugene for a match-up at Bushnell, as the Beacons (4-1-1, 0-1) had a 5-match unbeaten streak snapped last weekend by Corban. Bushnell dominated the Cal Pac in preseason matches – earning wins over Pacific Union, Cal Maritime and Simpson, holding a 12-6 edge in goals scored and a 78-52 edge in shots over their foes. Freshmen Ian Palma (3 goals, 1 assist) and Brady Housley (1 goal), along with juniors Danny Rojas (3 goals, 1 assist) and Caleb Primo (2 goals) are the top offensive options for the Beacons, with junior keeper William Haberfield (1.00 GAA, .727 save pct) patrolling the net. OIT looks to extend a 6-match win streak against Bushnell – including 5-straight shutout wins (outscoring the Beacons, 17-0) – with the Owls holding a 17-7-1 all-time series lead (5-5-1 in Lane County).
 
TECH SNAPS LOSING STREAK: Trailing 1-0 at the break on Saturday, the Owls had to play from a deficit for the fourth-straight game – but a pair of second half goals in a 10-minute span lifted the club to a crucial 2-1 win. The victory snapped a 3-match losing streak, the longest by the squad (not counting forfeited games during the 2018 season) since 2017.
 
FINALLY BREAKING THROUGH: A lock was seemingly on the OIT goal over the past two weeks – shutout losses at Hope International and Simpson, with Tech taking a combined 41 shot attempts against WPU and MCJU – with just 10 on frame. However, the Owls converted when they needed to, as freshman Merrick Tambio played a cross against WP – finding the head of Arthur Proost for a goal, with Tambio slotting home a game-tying goal in Saturday's win.
 
PASANG ENDS DROUGHT: It had been an unlucky start to the season for two-time all-conference pick Andrew Pasang – going scoreless over the first six matches of the year. The senior came through in a big way on Saturday, getting into the score column with a converted penalty, providing the winning margin in the 2-1 victory over Multnomah. For Pasang, it was his 25th career goal – two off the school record, his ninth career game-winner (one off the school record) and his sixth career penalty kick goal (one off the school record).
 
FULL 90'S: During the weekend, three players did not come off the field in the two matches – keeper Ryan Solis and defenders Cooper Hunt and Bridger Meyer – which is nothing new for the trio. Both Solis and Hunt have played 90 minutes in each of the seven matches in 2024, with Meyer playing in 624 of the 630 minutes. Three other players are over the 500-minute threshold through seven matches (71 minutes per game) – Lennyn Solis (573), Sylver Schweiger (562) and Andrew Pasang (531).
 
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 38-11-4 record on their own pitch. Since 2020, Tech has dominated foes, recording a 29-6-3 home record, including a 2-1 mark this year.
 
HOME SHUTOUT STREAK: The Owls extended their goal scoring streak at home to 24 matches with goals against both Warner Pacific and Multnomah. The last home shutout of Tech occurred in 2021, a loss to Southern Oregon.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: The opening slate of league play saw three teams complete 2-0 weekends – as Southern Oregon dispatched Multnomah and Warner Pacific, College of Idaho topped Evergreen State and Northwest, with Carroll defeating both Rocky Mountain and Walla Walla. Three teams – WWU, MCJU and TESC – finished with 0-2 marks. This week, SOU and Tech head to the Valley to face Corban and Bushnell, Carroll and Providence make the trip to Portland to meet WPU and MCJU, Eastern Oregon and C of I play the Friday-Sunday series with WWU and Rocky, with Northwest and Evergreen State meeting in their travel partner game.
 
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.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, the Hustlin' Owls rank No. 4 in the CCC in shots per game (13.71), are No. 6 in goals against average (1.43), fouls per game (11.14) and corner kicks per game (4.86), sit at No. 7 in assists per game (1.29), No. 8 in goals per game (1.43) and have recorded the fewest number of cautions (8) in the circuit. Individually, three players are in the CCC's Top-10 – Ryan Solis is No. 2 in shutouts (2) and No. 7 in goals against average (7), Cash Cota is No. 8 in shot attempts (15) and Kevin Rodriguez is No. 10 in shot attempts (14).
 
MCMANAMON CLOSING IN: Head coach Sean McManamon heads into weekend play with a career record of 28-11-3 – the second-most wins in program history. The third-year skipper is four victories away from setting a new OIT men's soccer coaching wins record, as Matt Munhall won 31 games from 2012-18.
 
RECORD BOOK: Three players are currently ranked among the Top-20 the OIT all-time career record book. Andrew Pasang is No. 2 all-time in goals scored (25), assists (18), total points (68), penalty kick conversions (6) and game-winning goals (9), ranking No. 6 in total shot attempts (119); Ryan Solis is No. 4 in shutouts (9) and goalie wins (12), ranking No. 9 in saves (77); with Kevin Rodriguez No. 10 in assists (10).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Hustlin' Owls return home to face two tough opponents – meeting defending CCC Tournament champ College of Idaho (Oct. 4 | 2:30 p.m.) and Eastern Oregon (Oct. 5 | 2:30 p.m.).