COMING UP: vs. Benedictine Mesa, Thursday, 4:30 p.m.; at Simpson, Sunday, 2 p.m.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION: Thursday's game with BenU will be carried live on the Owls Sports Network with Mike Safford on the call, with Sunday's match-up at Simpson broadcast on Simpson's YouTube Channel. Live Stats of both matches will be available on OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BENEDICTINE MESA: The season opens at home with the first-ever match-up between the Hustlin' Owls and Benedictine Mesa. The Redhawks were recently picked sixth in the GSAC Preseason Poll, coming off a 6-8-4 season where the squad scored one goal or fewer in 11-of-18 games. All-GSAC forward Ethan Lush (5 goals, 2 assists) leads BenU, with returning starters in midfielder Carlos Barraza (5 goals, 1 assist) and Ryder Padgett (3 goals, 3 assists) providing key experience. Both goalkeepers return for the Redhawks – Moritz Ae (2.14 GAA, .756 save %) and Rafael Machado (0.90 GAA, .783 save %).
 
AGAINST THE GSAC: The matchup with BenU pits the Cascade Conference against the Great Southwest Athletic Conference (formerly the Golden State Athletic Conference) – a league that has evolved over the past 15 years, as 12 different schools have left the circuit for either the NCAA Division I or II – with the league grabbing multiple former members of the California Pacific Conference (including new members Soka and La Sierra). Against current GSAC members, the Owls are a combined 2-5 – splitting games with The Master's, losing single games against Arizona Christian and Embry-Riddle, while dropping two matches to Hope International, while notching a win over OUAZ.  Tech played games against two former members – combining for a 5-4-2 record against Menlo and Jessup.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SIMPSON: Sunday, the Owls will brave the extreme head in the Sacramento River Valley, heading to Redding for a match-up against regional rival, Simpson. The Redhawks finished last season with a 2-8-1 record and will compete in the 5-team California Pacific Conference in 2025 (losing Soka and La Sierra to the GSAC, with Stanton University joining holdovers Pacific Union, Westcliff and Cal Poly Maritime (formally Cal Maritime). Simpson lost four of their five top scorers – but midfielder Bryan Ortiz (3 assists) is the top playmaker and returning starters in defender Ryan Denega and midfielder Sergio Garabay are veteran leaders.
 
HISTORY BETWEEN TECH AND SIMPSON: 2025 marks the seventh-straight season that OIT and the Redhawks will meet on the pitch, with the two teams splitting a pair of games last season. The Hustlin' Owls are 3-4-1 all-time vs. Simpson in Redding, but hold a 10-5-1 all-time series lead.
 
SEASON OPENING STREAK ON THE LINE: The Owls will take a six-match unbeaten streak in season openers into Thursday's contest. OIT picked up wins to start the 2019-21 seasons, while playing Simpson to a draw in 2022 and Menlo to a draw in 2023. Last year, the Owls went on the road and earned a 1-0 decision at George Fox. Tech's last season opening loss was in 2018 – a 2-0 decision at The Master's. OIT is 8-6-3 in season openers, dating back to the start of the program in 2008.
 
OPENING THE SEASON AT HOME: For the eighth time, Tech will start the season in Klamath Falls, looking to improve a 5-2 mark in season openers in the Basin. The Owls have posted wins in their last four season openers at home – wins over Simpson in 2016 and 2019 and victories over Jessup in 2020 and 2021.
 
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 40-12-6 record on their own pitch. Since 2020, Tech has dominated foes, recording a 31-7-5 home record, including a 4-2-2 mark in 2024.

AUGUST GAMES: Tech will play an August game for the 15th time in 18 seasons (the 2009 and 2021 seasons opened in September, while the 2020 season was played in the spring of 2021). The Owls are 6-9-3 all-time in August games – including a current 7-game unbeaten streak.
 
HUSTLIN' OWLS PICKED SEVENTH IN CCC POLL: The Owls were picked seventh in the Cascade Conference preseason poll, receiving 91 points from the 13 league coaches.  Carroll earned nine first-place votes and led the way with 158 points, with Southern Oregon (148), Eastern Oregon (141), Warner Pacific (128) and College of Idaho (126) all receiving one first-place nod. Of note, the league dropped from 14 to 13 teams, as Multnomah dropped their entire athletic program.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Along with Tech, six other teams will open the season this week – including Carroll traveling to Ohio for matches against Northwestern Ohio and Aquinas. Corban will meet Division III foes Whitman and Willamette, both Evergreen and Warner Pacific play George Fox, Bushnell heads to Division II St. Martin's, while BenU finishes their trip on Saturday at Southern Oregon.
 
2025 SEASON PREVIEW:  Click Here for Full Preview
 
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH SEAN MCMANAMON: "Everyone defines success as winning games and lifting trophies. We were pushed to seventh in the preseason poll – but this shouldn't matter to us. They know we play one game at a time, winning three points at a time – that will win you the big picture. I felt this Spring; players stepped into leadership roles and took ownership of this team – a much more connected group who understand who we are and our goals for the season. We aren't going to lower our sights because we didn't get as far as we wanted to last season – we have to push for that spot and the opportunity will present itself in the end to go lift that trophy."
 
NEXT WEEK: Tech travels to Newberg for a Friday (Aug. 29) match-up at NCAA Division III George Fox.