COMING UP: at George Fox, Friday, 7 p.m.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION: Friday's match-up in Newberg against George Fox will have live video via GFU's FloCollege streaming service, with live stats via GFU's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – GEORGE FOX: The Owls will play the next four matches away from the Basin, beginning Friday night at Division III George Fox – the second-straight year Tech has traveled to Newberg. The Bruins (14-5-1 in 2024) are coming off their first winning season since 2001 and posting their highest win total since 1996 – thanks to an offense that scored 45 goals. The 2025 Fox squad must replace an All-Northwest Conference forward and keeper, but return forwards Isaac Williams (7 goals, 2 assists) and Eugene Peltier (5 goals, 3 assists), midfielder Kellen Aguiar (3 goals, 6 assists) and All-NWC defender Kilnahe Waring (2 goals). The Bruins are 1-1 in exhibition games, losing, 1-0, to Warner Pacific, before topping Evergreen State, 2-1, behind two goals from Wilson Fresh.
 
HISTORY BETWEEN TECH AND FOX: Friday's match-up is the seventh all-time meeting between the Oregon schools, with the Hustlin' Owls holding a 4-1-1 series edge – including a 3-0-1 mark in Newberg. The two sides met last season, as Tech posted a first half goal from Kiko Solis and the Owls defense completed the clean sheet in a 1-0 victory.
 
OLD CONFERENCE FOE: George Fox is no stranger to OIT – with the bulk of the history occurring prior to the start of both Owls soccer programs. GFU and Tech were both original members of the Oregon Collegiate Conference from 1950-69, with both teams also competing in the NAIA District 2 throughout the 1980s and early 1990s and were founding members of the Cascade Conference in 1993. Fox was the first CCC team to leave the league, joining the Northwest Conference and the NCAA Division III in 1995. Three other teams left for the NCAA – Western Oregon and Northwest Nazarene in 1999 and Concordia-Portland in 2015.
 
AGAINST THE NCAA / NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: The Friday contest is the 22nd time the Owls have played an NCAA opponent, with OIT posting an 8-10-3 mark against the rival division. Of those matches, 19 were against Northwest Conference teams (all former NAIA institutions) – with Tech 8-8-3 against the clubs (4-1-1 against George Fox, 2-4-1 against Linfield, 1-3-1 against Pacific and 1-0 vs. Willamette).
 
OWLS RALLY FOR OPENING DRAW: After a rough first half in the season opener vs. Benedictine Mesa, OIT wore down the visitors from Arizona – breaking through inside the final three minutes to earn a 1-1 draw. Merrick Tambio and Reese Fletcher each had a pair of quality chances in the second half, but it was freshman Eric McGuire who flicked home a corner kick to square the score.
 
TECH MAKES GOAL STAND UP: Playing in temperatures well over 100 degrees, the Owls outlasted Simpson, claiming a 1-0 victory in Redding on Sunday afternoon. Tech got a first half goal when a cross eluded two SU defenders, finding Reese Fletcher just outside the box – hitting a low shot through the Redhawks keeper and finding the net. OIT withstood six shot attempts – including one off the right post – to claim the clean sheet.
 
BRADSHAW SERVES UP WINNERS: Two goals in two matches – with senior Ben Bradshaw delivering the set-up pass to create both strikes. For Bradshaw, the two assists equaled his career total coming into the season – as the defender now has three goals and four assists in 37 games.
 
DEFENSE THE KEY: The Owls cranked up the defense after allowing an early goal vs. BenU – completing the final 174 minutes of the weekend without surrendering a goal. Cooper Hunt played a full 90 minutes in both games, with the combination of Patrick Chan, Bridger Meyer, Reese Fletcher and Kasey Smith locking down the opposing offenses.
 
NEW KEEPER: Junior transfer Harvey Bolland won a 4-way battle for the starting goalkeeper spot during preseason training, getting the nod against BenU and Simpson. Bolland combined to allow just one goal and made six saves in the two matches and heads into the weekend with a 0.50 goals against average.
 
MAKING THEIR OIT DEBUT: The two matches last week saw the debut of eight players in a Hustlin' Owls uniform, as freshmen Nelson Romero, Lachlan Stenhouse and Eric McGuire, redshirt Moises Lopez Carillo, along with transfers Christian Sanchez, Kasey Smith and Harvey Bolland saw the pitch.
 
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 40-12-7 record on their own pitch. Since 2020, Tech has dominated foes, recording a 31-7-6 home record.

AUGUST GAMES: Tech will play games in August 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 7-9-4 all-time in August games – including a current 9-match 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: Seven teams, along with the Hustlin' Owls, opened their seasons last week – with Southern Oregon sweeping Pacific and Benedictine Mesa, with Carroll going 1-0-1 in matches in Ohio. Warner Pacific topped Pacific and Bushnell beat St. Martin's, while Evergreen lost to George Fox and Corban dropped matches against Whitman and Willamette. This week SOU and Northwest head to Arizona to meet Arizona Christian and OUAZ, both College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon host Embry-Riddle, while Rocky Mountain plays three matches in Kansas and Providence plays three matches in the Dakotas.
 
NEXT WEEK: Tech continues their road swing next weekend traveling to Arizona for dates at Arizona Christian (Sept. 5) and Park Gilbert (Sept. 7), before closing non-league play with an exhibition game at Gonzaga (Sept. 12).