FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Oakland Men's Soccer opened up Horizon League play this afternoon by tying the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons 1-1 after the final whistle in Fort Wayne.

Oakland started quick by dominating the time of possession early in the first half of play. In his second start, keeper Michael Sly Jr. displayed his high-level athleticism in net. The Grand Blanc, Michigan native made an incredible diving save in the 21' of the opening half. 

Sly Jr. was forced to immediately make two more saves. The first one ricocheting off his shin, the second one would be firmly handled by the Oakland keeper.

The redshirt freshman would cap-off his stellar first half play by punching away a Mastodons corner kick with nine minutes left to go before the half. 

Just eight minutes into the second frame, Dawsun Schrum would spearhead a Golden Grizzlies scoring chance. Schrum crossed the ball to midfielder Owen Smith who would one-touch the ball into the far left corner of the PFW goal, giving OU the 1-0 lead. 

The Oakland goal would mark the first of the 2022 regular-season for Smith, and the first assist of the season for Schrum.

Sly Jr. built off of his excellent first half play by executing his third diving save of the afternoon in the 16' of the second half. 

PFW would tie the game just two minutes later off the foot of Luke Benford in what was ruled an own goal.

The Dons increased their offensive pressure after knotting up the game. The remaining 13 minutes featured intense gameplay with many scoring chances for Purdue Fort Wayne and superb defense from Oakland.

In the closing minutes, Sly Jr. yet again impressed by making a one-on-one save off the right foot of a PFW forward. 

Fort Wayne area native, Reid Sproat executed a clean slide tackle and immediately followed that up by blocking a PFW shot with just two minutes left to go in the game. 

The final whistle would sound as New Zealand native, Owen Smith would attempt a Golden Grizzlies corner kick that would be headed away by a Mastodons defender. 

This marks Oakland's first tie of the season as well as the first tie of the series between Oakland and Purdue Fort Wayne. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
 

• Smith scores his first goal of the season
• Five saves, 20 shots faced for Sly Jr. 
• Four corner kicks attempted by the Golden Grizzlies 
• Schrum tallies first assist of 2022 regular-season 

Oakland will now head west for a match against the Grand Canyon Antelopes, who are receiving votes in the NCAA Division I Top 25 rankings Sept. 13 at 9:00pm at GCU stadium.