OIT to honor seven seniors including Elle Hillar in final matches

Oregon Tech Concludes 2026 Campaign Facing Warner Pacific and Walla Walla

This closing stretch brings the curtain down on a difficult autumn for the Lady Owls, who enter the weekend officially eliminated from the Cascade Collegiate Conference postseason picture.

A streak of nine-straight postseason appearances, stretching all the way back to the 2016 season, comes to a close in the Basin this weekend. Yet the matches carry immediate weight for the departing senior class, giving the home side a final opportunity to find the back of the net after a frustrating month.

Senior Weekend Honors Seven Longtime Contributors

Between Friday’s opening whistle and Sunday’s finale, OIT will pause to honor seven senior student-athletes. Elle Hillar, Shelby Geiger, Makahl Chambers, Ryane Mattox, Ariela Sanchez-Hermosillo, Olivia Mendoza, and Kaylie Hashizaki will be recognized on the pitch.

The senior goalkeeper anchored a gritty defensive effort during the team’s recent trip to the Valley, combining for 17 saves across a scoreless draw with Corban and a 2-0 defeat at Bushnell. Her career-best 10 saves against Corban secured her third shutout of the season, lowering her goals-against average to 1.14 and pushing her save percentage to 78 percent. In the program’s record book, Hillar stands ninth all-time in keeper wins with 10 and shutouts with 5, while sitting eleventh in career saves at 83.

A Prolonged Offensive Drought Tests the Lady Owls

OIT generated its two highest shot totals of the league season recently—launching 12 attempts at Corban and 14 at Bushnell—yet failed to capitalize on either occasion. That offensive frustration extends a scoreless drought to 500 minutes of match action, dating all the way back to October 3.

Lady o elle and owl by earth essentia fullview

When the Lady Owls manage to score at least once, they boast a 4-0-1 record. The difficulty lies in getting that breakthrough; the squad has been shut out 10 times this fall, a stretch that includes five straight games and eight of their last nine outings.

Friday’s opponent, Warner Pacific, arrives in Klamath Falls sporting a 5-5-3 overall record and a 4-4-2 mark in conference play, currently tied with Corban for seventh place in the standings. The Knights present a formidable defensive challenge, having surrendered just 15 goals all season behind goalkeeper Evelyn Montiel Silva, who boasts a 1.09 goals-against average and an .865 save percentage. OIT holds a 23-6-1 advantage in the all-time series meeting for the 31st time, though Warner Pacific is searching for its first win in the Basin since 2003.

OIT to honor seven seniors including Elle Hillar in final matches

Sunday brings an entirely new chapter to the program’s history books as OIT hosts Walla Walla for the first-ever Basin match-up between the two sides. The Wolves, who started their program in 2024, earned their first result two weeks ago with a draw against Evergreen. Walla Walla has faced a challenging run through the conference, getting outscored 37-8 while relying heavily on goalkeeper Allanah Rodriguez, whose 113 saves lead the league.

With five points in league play and a maximum of 11 available should they sweep the weekend, OIT sits behind tenth-place Providence as the conference playoff picture shakes out. Four teams—Rocky Mountain, College of Idaho, Northwest, and Southern Oregon—have already punched their tickets to the CCC Championships scheduled to begin a week from Saturday in Medford.

Keep reading