ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Oakland men's soccer team kicks off the 2019 season with a pair of road matches in the RMU/Duquesne Tournament beginning at Robert Morris on Friday, Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. and concluding at Duquesne on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m.
 
Notes:
-The 2019 season marks the 46th year of the men's soccer program
 
-Head Coach Eric Pogue is entering his 11th season and 18th overall with the program
 
-Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Andrew Wagstaff and Assistant Coach Demir Muftari return to the coaching staff. Both helped Oakland to the program's first Horizon League regular season and tournament championship in 2014. The team went on to defeat Kentucky in the opening round of the NCAA Championships marking the second time the Golden Grizzlies advanced to the second round of the College Cup
 
- Oakland was picked to finish fourth in the 2019 Horizon League Preseason Poll
 
- The Golden Grizzlies have 13 returners including Horizon League All-Freshman Team selections Luke Morrell who finished second on the team in goals (4) and points (8) and Napoleon Outlaw III who also finished second in points (8) scoring three goals with two assists
 
-Seniors Spencer Nolff and Elliott Bentley along with junior Noah Jensen were named team captains
 
-For the second straight season, Oakland welcomes a diverse group of 11 newcomers who will look to make an immediate impact.
The group includes 10 freshmen Carson Debison-Larabie (Ajax, Ont., Canada), Frank Jones (Rochdale, England), Mikey Ketteman (Portage, Mich.), Auston Kranick (Murrysville, Penn.), Adam McAleenan (Crossgar, Northern Ireland), Mitch Meldrum (Chesterfield, Mich.), Marco Navarro (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Alexis Puga (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Micah Sonnenberg (Brooklyn, Mich.), Reid Sproat (Auburn, Ind.) and Georgia Military College transfer Charlie Braithwaite (Doncaster, England) to round out the class.
 
-The 2019 roster also includes 10 international players: Canada (5-Jensen, Evan Sawula, Debison-Larabie, Adam Giorgio, Liam McQueenie), England (3-Braithwaite, Bentley, Jones), France (1-Corentin Diverres), Ireland (1-McAleenan).



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