MEDFORD, Ore. – On a day where the match's location and time were changed just hours before the scheduled start time, Jessup officially kicked off a new season Thursday in Oregon. Taking on the No. 19 ranked Oregon Tech Owls in Medford, an hour away from the original location in Klamath Falls, the Warriors suffered a 4-0 defeat in their season opener.
 
Much like the issues currently hitting the Sacramento region, air quality in Southern Oregon was an issue Thursday morning, forcing the location change. To avoid high ratings on the AQI scale, Thursday's kickoff was also pushed up to noon from the original 2:30 p.m. start time.

Entering his second season leading the Warriors, head coach David Nolan noted that the Warriors are still working to knock off the rust from the offseason. "Our rustiness showed throughout the game. Oregon Tech was first to every ball, and we struggled to get up to the pace of the game."
 
The Owls jumped out to a quick lead, finding the back of the net just seven minutes into the match. Oregon Tech's Mehana Ortiz scored off an assist from Sylvia Sloss for the season's first score.
 
Just over 16-minutes later, the Owls added to their lead as Kyra Mull set the score at 2-0.
 
Due to the unhealthy air quality remaining in the area, halftime of Thursday's match was extended to an hour. After the long break, the Owls quickly got back to work as Mull netted her second goal of the day to extend the lead to 3-0.
 
A fourth goal was tallied in the 57th minute by Nyah Kendall, coming off Ortiz's second assist of the day.
 
Nolan gave the opening day nod in goal to Madeline Jern, now in her second season with the Warriors. Jern played all 90 minutes in net Thursday, totaling five saves on the day.
 
The Warriors tallied eight shots in the match, four of which came from junior Keely Fink. Just three of the Jessup shots went on frame.
 
Nolan later noted that there was plenty of things he liked out of Thursday's contest, adding, "With 17 new players, it was good to begin the preparation of bedding them in and gelling the team together. The score aside, there were some good positives to take from the game going into our scrimmage on Saturday."
 
With a match under their belt, the Warriors will look to improve their game with a duo of local scrimmages on the schedule next. Saturday evening Jessup will be in Folsom to take on Folsom Lake College. Then on Tuesday, the Warriors will make the very short drive to Sierra College.
 
The next official match on the schedule for Jessup comes next Friday when the Warriors visit UC Merced. Live stats and streaming of the match in Merced can be viewed online, HERE.
   
William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter and Instagram).