Nov. 22, 2014 ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Oakland men's soccer team (10-6-3) will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday as they face No. 13 Michigan State (11-4-5) at DeMartin Stadium beginning at 1 p.m.
The Golden Grizzlies advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in the Division I era. Oakland made it to the second round in 2007 when it defeated Michigan State, 2-1, in East Lansing before losing to Notre Dame by the same score. The Golden Grizzlies are 21-9-3 all-time against the Spartans including earning a 2-0 win over then 10th-ranked MSU on Oct. 22 at the Oakland Soccer Field.
Oakland defeated No. 24 Kentucky, 2-0, on Thursday for only its second-ever win in the NCAA Tournament. Cody Archibald and Gavin Hoy each scored second-half goals to lift the Golden Grizzlies and improve their record to 2-4-1 in the tournament. Wes Mink recorded his seventh shut out of the season and improved to 10-4-3 with the win. Oakland looks to become the first Horizon League team to advance to the Sweet 16 since UIC in 2008.
The Golden Grizzlies earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010 and sixth time since 2000 after capturing the Horizon League Championship last week at the Oakland Soccer Field. Oakland defeated Wright State 2-1 in the championship game on Saturday as Gerald Ben and Joey Tinnion scored goals. Ben was named the Tournament MVP, while John DeLeon, Hoy and Archibald were named to the All-Tournament Team. Ben was also named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after recording two goals and an assist during the Horizon League Championship.
The Golden Grizzlies finished league play undefeated for the first time since 2009 to earn the No. 1 seed in the league tournament and won its first regular season crown since 2012. Oakland placed the most players on the Horizon League All-First and Second teams including head coach Eric Pogue being named the Coach of the Year. Tinnion, Matt Dudley and Shawn Claud Lawson each earned first-team honors, Archibald was selected to the second team and Mink was picked on both the second team and the all-freshman team.
Michigan State earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament and received the No. 3 seed, the highest seed in program history. It is MSU's third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and are 23-13-3 all-time. The Spartans have wins over No. 2 Indiana and No. 12 Penn State on the road this season. Michigan State was knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament by Maryland after falling in penalty kicks 3-2. The Spartans are led by Jason Stacey with a team-best seven assists as he and four other players are tied for the team lead in goals with four.
The match can be seen live on Michigan State All-Access.
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