COMING UP: at Arizona Christian, Friday, 5:30 p.m.; at Park Gilbert, Sunday, 7 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: The Friday night match-up with Arizona Christian will be streamed on the GSAC Sports Network, with Sunday's contest at Park Gilbert to be streamed on RobatTV. Live Stats for both matches will be available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.

NOTE TIME CHANGE: Due to the potential of evening thunderstorms on Friday, the ACU-OIT match-up has been moved up to a 5:30 p.m. start.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – ARIZONA CHRISTIAN: The Hustlin' Owls continue their preseason exodus away from the Basin this weekend, with a trip to Phoenix – beginning with a Friday match-up at Arizona Christian. The Firestorm (1-0-1) are coming off a 7-8-4 season and have opened the new season against a pair of Cascade Conference opponents – defeating Northwest, 3-1, before playing Southern Oregon to a 1-1 draw. ACU returns All-GSAC forward Edwin Meza, who tallied eight goals in 2024, along with Josh Flanagan (3 goals) and Jose Garcia (1 goal, 1 assist) – who combined for five goals and six assists last year. Playmakers Elijah Meade (2 assists) and Isaac Blanco (2 assists) lead the midfield, while keeper Emiliano Vega (1.00 GAA, 13 saves) was named GSAC Defensive Player of the Week.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – PARK GILBERT: Following a rest day, Tech closes their tour in the desert on Sunday, with their first-ever meeting against Park Gilbert. The Buccaneers (1-1), who finished last season with a 7-7-4 record, have posted a dominating 51-14 edge in shot attempts in their first two games in 2025 – an 8-1 victory over NCCAA foe Justice University and a 3-2 loss to Division III Cal Tech. Park returns a pair of key players – All-GSAC forward Havard Brynie (2 goals, 1 assist), who led the team in scoring with six goals last year, along with GSAC Freshman of the Year, Noah Yalu (1 assist), who led the club with five assists. Midfielders Monty Almalisky (2 goals) and Ilan Rodriguez Roda (1 goal, 1 assist) have started quickly this year, while Nicklas Lagesen (2.00 GAA) returns as the top goalkeeper.
 
MATCHING UP IN ARIZONA: The trip to Arizona marks OIT's second trip to the Phoenix metro and the fourth regular-season trip the Owls have made outside of the geographic footprint of Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Northern California. In 2018, Tech dropped a pair of games in the Los Angeles area, while in 2023, the Owls traveled to Phoenix – earning a 3-1 victory at OUAZ, but dropping a 2-1 decision in the only previous match-up vs. Arizona Christian. Last year, the Owls returned to Los Angeles, earning a win over The Master's, but losing a date at Hope International.
 
AGAINST THE GSAC: The matchups with ACU and Park Gilbert 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 2-5-1 – splitting games with The Master's, losing single games against Arizona Christian and Embry-Riddle, while dropping two matches to Hope International, notching a win over OUAZ and playing Benedictine Mesa to a draw in the 2025 season opener.  Tech has also played games against two former members – combining for a 5-4-2 record against Menlo and Jessup.
 
SECOND HALF PENALTY SECURES DRAW: Last Friday, the Owls made the trek to Yamhill County, squaring off with Division III George Fox. After allowing an early goal, Tech went on the offensive – dominating play with an 18-8 edge in total shots, including an 11-3 edge in the second half. A hand ball in the box allowed Merrick Tambio a chance to convert from the penalty spot – equalizing the score. OIT had multiple chances to take the lead – including a strike from Reece Fletcher that was disallowed due to an offsides flag.
 
UNBEATEN STARTS: With the draw vs. George Fox, Tech improved to 1-0-2 on the season – the seventh time since the inception of the program in 2008 that the Owls sit unbeaten through three contests. Both the 2009 and 2024 teams began 3-0, the 2016 team started 3-0-1, the 2022 club began 3-0-2, the 2021 squad opened 6-0, with the 2019 team opening the season with a 5-0-2 mark.
 
SPEAKING OF TIES: The 1-1 draw at George Fox was the second tie for the Owls in 2025 and the 30th tie in program history. Of the 30 draws – 10 have finished with a 0-0 score, 13 have ended with a 1-1 score, while Tech and their opposition have ended a game with a 2-2 score seven times.
 
STARTS AND PLAYING TIME: Through three matches, eight players have started each of the contests – Ben Bradshaw, Sylver Schweiger, Anthony Aguiar-Casillas, Patrick Chan, Cash Cota, Bridger Meyer, Cooper Hunt and Harvey Bolland. Two players – Bolland and Hunt – have played all 270 minutes this season, with Chan, Meyer, Schweiger and Reece Fletcher, each playing over 200 minutes.
 
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: With two weeks remaining before the start of the 12-game Cascade Conference schedule, two teams have perfect records – as Bushnell sits at 3-0 after wins over Saint Martin's, Simpson and Lewis & Clark, with Eastern Oregon at 1-0 after shutting out Embry-Riddle, 3-0. Southern Oregon improved to 3-0-1 with a win at OUAZ and a draw at Arizona Christian. This week, SOU heads to Simpson and Soka, Linfield and Pacific play at Bushnell, Corban will play both Warner Pacific and George Fox, Carroll joins Tech in Arizona for matches at Benedictine Mesa and Embry-Riddle, while EOU heads to California for a challenging trip with games at Westcliff, The Master's. Hope International and Life Pacific.
 
NEXT WEEK:  The Hustlin' Owls will step away from countable games next week, traveling to Spokane for a friendly against Division I Gonzaga. The game, which is a counter for the Bulldogs, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.