via Oregon Tech Athletic Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon Tech scored three unanswered goals in the final 35 minutes to erase a Warner Pacific lead, as the Lady Owls secured the No. 6-seed in the Cascade Conference Women’s Soccer Championships with a 4-2 victory at the Eastside Timbers Complex.
OIT (10-5-3, 6-4-2 CCC) finished tied with Bushnell for fifth-place in the 13-team table, with BU earning the higher seed in the tournament due to a third tiebreak (fewest goals allowed in CCC play). Tech will square off with Eastern Oregon on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at Lithia & Driveway Fields (Field 12) in Medford.
The Knights (3-12-2, 2-9-1) rallied from an early deficit to take a 2-1 lead in the 48th minute, as a Jordan McLeod free kick was headed home by Ashley Payton.
Tech answered just seven minutes later, as Jaylee Curran played a pretty through-ball behind the WPU defense, with Ryane Mattox calmly slotting home the tying goal.
OIT regained the lead with 15 minutes to play, as Alejandra Salcedo sliced a long angled through-ball to the charging Sydney Soskis, who converted the 1-v-1 opportunity in the box. Tech added to the lead in the 77th minute, as Mattox and Maegan Cooper exchanged touches just outside the box, with Cooper chipping an angled shot into the top right corner of the net for the 4-2 cushion.
The Owls scored first in the 24th minute, as Claire Cowan touched home a rebound of a Raeah Raymondo shot inside the 6-yard-box – but WPU tied the match on a Kiya Gramps breakaway goal in the 35th minute.
The Lady Owls finished with a 17-9 edge in shots, with back-up keeper Elle Hillar making three saves in the win.
