ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland men's soccer team continues Horizon League at 2019 defending champion Wright State on Saturday, Mar. 6 at 1 p.m. The match will be broadcast live from the Alumni Field at Rinzler Student Sports Complex on ESPN3.
 
Notes:
Match up vs the Raiders:
The match between Oakland and Wright State will be a rematch of the last season's Horizon League Championship semifinal when the No. 2 seed Golden Grizzlies were stunned by No. 5 seed Raiders, 4-1. After winning the league title, WSU advanced to the round of 32 in the 2019 NCAA Tournament after defeating Notre Dame, 3-2, and played No. 13 Michigan to a 0-0 draw before falling in penalty kicks. Oakland won the regular season match at WSU, 3-2, but are 1-4-1 against the Raiders over the last six matches.
 
Last Time Out:
Metro Series Domination
Dylan Borczak scored two goals with an assist totaling five points while Charlie Braithwaite added the game-winning goal along with his first assist of the season to lead Oakland to a 3-1 Metro Series win over arch-rival Detroit Mercy (2/28).Ville Ahola, Dawsun Schrum and Noah Jensen also added assists. In his first career start in an Oakland uniform, Nour Moaoui faced six shots making three saves to record his first win of the season. Oakland is a perfect 5-0-2 all-time against the Detroit Mercy since the inception of the Metro Series in 2014 and 12-3-6 over the last 20 matches.
 
Metro Series Results:
2020: W - Oakland 3 vs Detroit Mercy 1
2019: T - Oakland 1 vs Detroit Mercy 1 (2OT)
2018: W - Oakland 1 at Detroit Mercy 0
2017: T - Oakland 0 vs Detroit Mercy 0 (2OT)
2016: W - Oakland 2 at Detroit Mercy 1
2015: W - Oakland 2 vs Detroit Mercy 0
2014: W - Oakland 2 at Detroit Mercy 1 (OT)
 
Borczak named Horizon League Nike® Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time:
For the second time this season, Oakland men's soccer midfielder Dylan Borczak was named Nike® Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week, announced by the league office on Friday.
 
Borczak, a senior from Detroit, Mich., accounted for five points scoring two goals, giving him a league-leading seven on the season, while assisting on the game-winning goal to lead Oakland to a 3-1 Metro Series win over arch-rival Detroit Mercy. The win kept the Golden Grizzlies a perfect 5-0-2 all-time against the Titans since the inception of the Metro Series in 2014.
 
Tops in the Horizon League:
- As a team, Oakland leads the Horizon League lead in points (43), goals (13) and assists (17).
 
- Borczak leads the league in goals (7) and points (16)
 
- Jensen also leads the league in assists (6) and ranks third in points (10).
 
- Charlie Braithwaite is third on the team in points (5) with two goals and an assist followed by Ahola (4) with a goal and two assists. Owen Smith is fourth (3) with a goal and assist.
 
- Dawsun Schrum also has two assists while Mikey Ketteman, Adam McAleenan and Arthur Widiez each have an assist on the season.
 
- The Golden Grizzlies are 0-0-1 in their lone overtime game this season.
 
PK Specialist:
Booth of Jensen's goals this season have come off penalty kicks
 
Jurak named Nike® Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week:
Finn Jurak, a redshirt sophomore from Canberra, Australia, picked up his second win of the season making two saves including a crucial one off a penalty kick helping Oakland to a 2-1 win over Purdue Fort Wayne to remain unbeaten in conference play. Jurak came up big late in the match during the 77th minute as he saved a penalty kick off PFW's Logan Lee keeping the Mastodons off the board and preserving Oakland's 2-0 lead.
 
Not 1, Not, 2, Not 3, but 4 Player of the Week honors:
For his efforts against RMU, Borczak earned three national Player of the Week honors and totaling four overall. He earned United Soccer Coaches College Player of the Week honors (2/9) and TopDrawerSoccer.com Men's DI Player of the Week accolades and was one of 11 student-athletes named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Men's DI Team of the Week (2/9).
 
He also earned College Soccer News Men's National Player of the Week honors and was one of 12 student-athletes named to the College Soccer News Men's National Team of the Week (2/8) in addition to being named Nike® Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week (2/5).
 
Team of the Week:
After the 5-0 win over Robert Morris, Oakland was named TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week (2/9).
 
Hat Trick:
Dylan Borczak knotted three first-half goals to complete the hat trick while adding an assist for a total of seven points to lead Oakland to a dominating 5-0 win over visiting Robert Morris to open the 2021 Horizon League season at the Grizz Dome (2/4). Noah Jensen also pulled off the hat trick in the assist department with three while Ville Ahola, Mikey Ketteman and Adam McAleenan each added a helper. Owen Smith scored his first collegiate goal followed by a tally from Charlie Braithwaite. Goalkeeper Finn Jurak picked up the shutout in his debut for the Golden Grizzlies.
 
2021 Horizon League Rewind:
Oakland falls at NKU
Noah Jensen recorded his second goal of the season off a penalty kick late in the first half as Oakland dropped its first Horizon League match of the season with a 2-1 setback at Northern Kentucky (2/22). Dylan Borczak recorded two shots while Dawsun Schrum, Ville Ahola and Reid Sproat each posted a shot. Set pieces proved the be the difference as Northern Kentucky (2-1) got the game-winner late in the second half off a corner kick while Oakland could not convert and of their 10 corner kick opportunities.
 
 
Oakland holds off Purdue Fort Wayne:
Ville Ahola scored his first goal in an Oakland uniform while Dylan Borczak posted his fifth goal of the season as the Golden Grizzlies defeated visiting Purdue Fort Wayne, 2-1, on Tuesday night at the Grizz Dome to remain undefeated in Horizon League play.  Dawsun Schrum set the tone for the offense recording his first assist of the season while Owen Smith also tallied his first collegiate assist along with Noah Jensen who added his team-leading fifth assist of the year.
 
Showdown at UIC ends in draw:
The battle of the top two preseason teams lived up to its billing as Noah Jensen scored a goal with an assist while Dylan Borczak added his fourth goal of the season to lead Oakland to a 2-2 double-overtime draw at UIC (2/10). Arthur Widiez also recorded his first collegiate assist on Borczak's goal. The Golden Grizzlies and Flames were each picked to finish in a first-place tie along atop the 2021 Horizon League Preseason Poll.
 
Season Opening Magic vs Robert Morris Deja Vu:
After Oakland opened up the 2019 season at Robert Morris with an impressive offensive explosion in a 5-1 road win, the Golden Grizzlies picked up where they left off against the Colonials last week with a 5-0 shutout win at home. Oakland total 17 total points with five goals and seven assists.
 
Team Breakdown:
-The 2021 season marks the 47th year of the men's soccer program
 
- Head Coach Eric Pogue is in 12th season and 19th overall with the program
 
- Oakland was picked to finish in a first-place tie along with UIC atop the 2021 Horizon League Men's Soccer Preseason Poll, as announced by the league office on Tuesday and voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. Both teams earned 109 points with the Golden Grizzlies securing three first-place votes compared to eight votes for the 2019 league regular season champion Flames.
 
- The Golden Grizzlies have 10 returners including All-Horizon League First Team selection Dylan Borczak, Second-Team selection and team captain Noah Jensen and All-Freshman Team selections Cameron Wilde and Adam McAleenan.
 
- Oakland has a diverse group of 19 newcomers who will look to make an immediate impact.
 
- The 2021 roster also includes 14 international players representing 12 different countries: Australia (2-Kieran Hayes, Finn Jurak) Canada (3 - Noah Jensen, Sebastian Nuzzo, Jaiden Ramsay-Kelly), England (1-Charlie Braithwaite), Finland (1-Ville Ahola), France (1-Arthur Widiez), Japan (1-Taiga Shiokawa), Jordan (1-Mohammad Issa), Mexico (1-Gabriel Baylon), Netherlands (1-Remco Gielen), New Zealand (1-Owen Smith), Northern Ireland (1-Adam McAleenan), Switzerland (1-Julien Beausire).
 
- Last season, Oakland finished the season 7-9-3 overall with a 4-2-2 conference mark to earn the No. 2 seed at the Horizon League Tournament. The Golden Grizzlies were upset by No. 5 seed and eventual tournament champion Wright State, 4-1.
 
2019 Statistically Speaking:
Forwards and Midfield:
- Borczak led the team in assists (8) which was fourth in league lead and ranked 31st nationally at the end of the regular season. Additionally, he led the team in points (16) which also was 10th in the league and was tied for second on the team in goals (4). Borczak scored a goal with a season-high in assists (2) and points (4) in Oakland's 5-1 win at Robert Morris (8/30/19). He recorded three points in a game with a goal and assist on three occasions with the game-winner against IUPUI (10/12), in overtime at Green Bay (9/21) and at Wright State (10/5).
 
- Braithwaite led the team in goals (6) and ranked third second in points (13)
 
- Jensen also ranked second on the team in points (13) and tied for second on the team in goals (4) scoring against Western Illinois, IUPUI, UIC and Northern Kentucky. He was also second on the team in assists (5) against Robert Morris, Green Bay, UIC, Marshall and Wright State.
 
- Braithwaite and Borczak also led the team in game-winning goals (2). Braithwaite's game winners came against Green Bay and Robert Morris while Borczak's came against Wright State and IUPUI.
 
- Wilde tied for third on the team in points (9) with three goals and three assists. Wilde recorded his first career goal and assist in his collegiate debut in a 5-1 win at Robert Morris. He added a goal in a win over Western Illinois and recoded the equalizer to rally the Golden Grizzlies from a two-goal deficit to a 2-2 draw at Bradley. Wilde also posted assists in wins over Green Bay and IUPUI.
 
Backline production:
-Returners Reid Sproat and Micah Sonnenberg look to anchor a backline to that recorded five shutouts last season.
 
Goalkeeping:
Newcomers Finn Jurak, Nour Moaoui and Brian Ostapenko will all look to compete to replace 2019 Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year Sullivan Lauderdale who graduated and will be helping out the staff as a Volunteer Assistant Coach.
 
Last season, Lauderdale posted a 6-8-3 record while tying for third in the Horizon League in shutouts (4), fourth in saves-per game (4.11) and eighth in goals-against-average (1.59). His four shutouts this season all came in league play leading to wins against Cleveland State (1-0), Green Bay (3-0) and IUPUI (4-0) along with a scoreless draw against Milwaukee. Lauderdale was also named Nike Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week (9/23).
 
Team Effort:
- As a team, Oakland led the conference lead in points (93), ranks third in assists (31) and fourth in goals (31).
 
- 11 different players accounted for 30 total goals while 12 different players have recorded 31 assists.
 
- The Golden Grizzlies were 1-1-3 in overtime games.
 
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