Benedictine University Mesa opened the home portion of its 2026 campaign by battling Oregon Tech to a 2-2 draw on Friday night at the Santos Soccer Complex. The Redhawks showed resilience throughout the contest, coming from behind twice and nearly finding a late winner against the Owls.
Oregon Tech struck first in the fourth minute when Eric McGuire finished a chance off an assist from Cannon Spooner to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
The Redhawks settled into the match and found an answer in the 16th minute. Franco Marambio delivered a pass to Shay Carey, who buried his first goal of the season to level the score at 1-1. The goal sparked a strong stretch for Benedictine, which generated several chances before halftime. Ryder Skolka forced a save from Oregon Tech goalkeeper Noah Harwood, while Pol Bistue and Kobe Bewicke also tested the Owl defense as the teams entered the break deadlocked.
Oregon Tech regained the advantage shortly after halftime when Kevin Alvarenga scored in the 49th minute off assists from Tidus Paet-Vegas and Lucas Kay-Wong, putting the Owls back in front 2-1.
Once again, Benedictine responded.
In the 58th minute, Andronikos Nicolaou found Kobe Bewicke in the attacking third, and the sophomore finished for his first goal of the season to tie the match at 2-2. The equalizer energized the Redhawks, who continued to press forward in search of a go-ahead goal.
A major turning point came in the 69th minute when Oregon Tech's Raul Arzola was shown a red card, forcing the visitors to play the remainder of the match with 10 men. Benedictine took control of possession and created a number of dangerous opportunities over the final20 minutes.
Bewicke nearly scored his second goal of the evening in the 61st minute, but Harwood made the save. Emil Ingdahl forced another stop in the 78th minute, while Jackson O'Connor had a header blocked off a late corner kick opportunity. Bistue produced one final chance in the89th minute, but Harwood again came up with the save to preserve the draw.
