July 5, 2011

2011 Oakland Men's Soccer Schedule

ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Oakland men's soccer team released its 2011 schedule on Tuesday, announced by head coach Eric Pogue. The team will face five teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season as part of a tough league schedule to prepare for The Summit League campaign.

"We are very excited about the schedule we have put together for the 2011 fall season," said Pogue. "We have never shied away from playing anyone in the nation and this year is no different. Our non-league schedule includes many of the top teams in the nation and will help us prepare for a very tough Summit League schedule."

The Golden Grizzlies will start the season with an exhibition match against Michigan State on Aug. 18 at the OU Soccer Field. The contest is a rematch of the final game of last season, when OU played MSU in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Grizzlies will also play an exhibition match at Valparaiso on Aug. 20, before beginning the season away against DePaul on Aug. 27.

Oakland will play its first regular home match at the OU Soccer Field on Sept. 2 against Northern Illinois. It is the first of several tough non-league matches for Oakland. The team has put together a challenging schedule with Butler (Sept. 4), Michigan (Oct. 12) and Ohio State (Oct. 26) all coming to the OU Soccer Field after reaching the NCAA Tournament last year.

The Golden Grizzlies will also face 2010 NCAA Tournament teams at the prestigious Hurricane Classic Tournament in Tulsa, Okla. There the Golden Grizzlies will tackle Southern Methodist (Sept. 9) and hosts Tulsa (Sept. 11).

The schedule is full of challenging non-league matches, including road dates against Marshall (Sept. 16), Cincinnati (Sept. 18) and Loyola (Oct. 5) all on the schedule. The team will also host matches against Dayton (Sept. 25) and Detroit (Oct. 19).

"The goal every year is to put a schedule together that will give us two opportunities to make the NCAA Tournament," said Pogue. "The first way into the NCAA tournament is by winning The Summit League Tournament title. However, we also try to give ourselves a second chance of getting an at-large bid by scheduling some of the toughest teams in the nation in our non-league schedule. The program has earned two at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament."

The Golden Grizzlies will also face a tough Summit League schedule. The team hosts Oral Roberts (Sept. 23) to open league play. It is a rematch of the 2010 Summit League Championship match, which Oakland won 2-0. The Golden Grizzlies will also host league opponents IPFW (Oct. 15) and IUPUI (Nov. 5).

One of the biggest road matches of the season will take place on Oct. 1 when OU travels to face UMKC. The Kangaroos won the 2010 regular season title and will host The Summit League Championship Tournament on Nov. 11-13 in Kansas City, Mo. The Golden Grizzlies will also play road contests against Western Illinois (Oct. 22) and new league member for soccer Eastern Illinois (Oct. 29).

Official match times will be released closer to the start of the season.

-OAKLAND-