COMING UP: vs. Southern Oregon, Friday, 2:30 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Live Video of all Cascade Conference soccer matches will be available through the Cascade Sports Network, with Live State available via OIT's SIDEARM Stats platform. Links are available via OregonTechOwls.com.
 
OPPONENT INFORMATION – SOUTHERN OREGON (5-0-1, 2-0-0 CCC) | 15TH MEETING | SOU LEADS SERIES, 10-2-2 | LAST MEETING IN 2025 (SOU 1, OIT 0): Tech returns home, where the Owls will play seven of their final 10 matches, hosting their closest rival, Southern Oregon, for a Friday afternoon contest. The Raiders are off to a tremendous start, riding a 3-game win streak, including consecutive 2-1 victories on the road, with both game-winners coming inside the final five minutes of the game. SOU has a potent attack, led by the duo of All-CCC midfielder Jonathan Gaspar (4 goals) and forward JP Warrell (4 goals, 1 assist), complimented by Michael Mutchukian (2 goals, 2 assists) and Ariel De Dios Crus (2 goals, 2 assists). Defensively, returning starter Maxwell Tennant is joined by new keeper Daniel Espinoza (0.86 GAA, 24 saves). Southern has dominated the all-time series, but the Owls are 1-1-1 against the Raiders in the last three matches in Klamath.
 
BEST START EVER: The Owls enter Friday's match-up with a 3-0-5 record, the first time in program history that Tech has posted an undefeated record through eight matches. Twice, OIT teams were unbeaten through seven contests – going 5-0-2 in 2019 and 4-0-3 in 2025, with the 2021 team starting the year a perfect 6-0.
 
FOUR-POINT TRIP: Tech's road trip to the Puget Sound region netted four points in the Cascade Conference table – as the Owls played Evergreen State to a scoreless draw and toppled Northwest, 2-1. Against Evergreen, keeper Noah Harwood made two late-game saves, including redirecting a shot off the crossbar and away inside the last minute to preserve the clean sheet. At Northwest, the Owls opened the scoring in the first four minutes, as Yahir Ramos headed home his third goal of the year and OIT withstood playing the final 36 minutes down a man to claim the key road win.
 
ANOTHER DRAW: OIT tied the school record for ties in a season with five – with 10 matches left in the regular season. The Owls are one of two NAIA teams with five draws, joined by Huston-Tillotson, while Texas Wesleyan and Mobile have four draws. It was the 36th draw in program history, with Tech playing 12 matches ending in a 0-0 score, 14 matches ending at 1-1, nine games ending at 2-2, with one match finishing 3-3.
 
DEFENSE CONTINUES TO LEAD: Heading into the season, the Tech defense was a question mark, losing all four starters on the back line, along with an All-CCC keeper. The new crew has more than made their mark, posting a 0.75 goals against average through eight matches, with the Owls tied for the league lead in shutouts (4). Noah Harwood ranks second in the NAIA with his four shutouts, while Eric McGuire, Yahir Ramos, Nathan Becerra and Sammy Villalta have done an outstanding job limiting scoring opportunities.
 
COTA SCORES AGAIN: Tech's top scorer was at it again on the road trip, as Cash Cota scored his fourth goal of 2026 – the eventual game-winner at Northwest. After Kasey Smith won a ball away from a defender, the defensive midfielder flicked a pass to Cota, who ripped a low shot past a charging keeper and into the right corner of the net. The four goals by Cota equal the highest mark by an OIT player from the 2025 season, giving the junior eight goals and four assists in his career.
 
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 45-12-10 record on their own pitch. Since 2020, Tech has dominated foes, recording a 36-7-9 home record, including a 4-0-2 mark in 2025 and a 1-0-2 mark this season.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Southern Oregon was the lone team to win two matches last weekend, claiming 2-1 wins over Northwest and Evergreen, while Bushnell stopped Providence and Eastern knocked off Warner Pacific (EOU's match with Walla Walla was suspended due to darkness). In addition, Walla Walla earned a surprising draw at College of Idaho and Providence won at Corban. This week, Warner Pacific and Walla Walla travel to Providence, C of I and Eastern head to Corban and Bushnell, with Northwest and Evergreen making the Montana swing to meet Carroll and Rocky Mountain.
 
CCC STANDINGS: Southern Oregon 2-0-0 (6 points), 5-0-1; Oregon Tech 1-0-1 (4 points), 3-0-5; Bushnell 1-0-0 (3 points), 5-0-2; Eastern Oregon 1-0-0 (3 points), 1-1-2; Providence 1-1-0 (3 points), 1-3-0; College of Idaho 0-0-2 (2 points), 0-3-3; Rocky Mountain 0-0-1 (1 point), 2-0-3; Carroll 0-0-1 (1 point), 1-2-2; Walla Walla 0-0-1 (1 point), 0-3-1; Evergreen State 0-1-1 (1 point), 2-1-3; Warner Pacific 0-1-1 (1 point), 2-2-2; Corban 0-1-0 (0 points), 3-1-0; Northwest 0-2-0 (0 points), 2-4-1.
 
CCC LEADERS: Goals Scored – J.P. Warnell (SOU) 4, Cash Cota (OIT) 4, Joan Remo Morales 4, Jonathan Gaspar (SOU) 4, 5 Players with 3; Assists – Brady Housley (BU) 5, Kevin Alvarenga (OIT) 3, Kolby Juarez (TESC) 3, 16 Players with 2; Shot Attempts – Luis Gonzalez (WPU) 30, Noah Blake (TESC) 21, Henry Lopez (EOU) 18, Joan Remo Morales (BU) 16, Cash Cota (OIT) 16; Goals Against Average – Rylan Davidson (CRB) 0.25, Aaron Lowry (BU) 0.39, Biruk Paulos-Negatu (RMC) 0.60, Jonathan Flores (WPU) 0.67, Owen Purvis (WPU) 0.67; Shutouts – Noah Harwood (OIT) 4, Rylan Davidson (CRB) 3, Biruk Paulos-Negatu 2, 5 Players with 1.
 
RECORD BOOK: Currently, two players rank among the OIT Top-20 in the career record book, Noah Harwood is No. 8 in keeper shutouts (4) and Dalton Rideout is No. 15 in program history in goals scored (10) and No. 18 in points (22).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Hustlin' Owls close out their 3-match homestand next weekend, hosting Rocky Mountain (Oct. 2) and Carroll (Oct. 3).