ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland Men's Soccer is set to face their toughest competition of the 2022 regular-season as they head to the southwest to take on the Grand Canyon University Antelopes this Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 9:00pm at GCU stadium.

Sustainable offensive pressure and excellent goaltending led the way for the Golden Grizzlies in their previous match versus Purdue Fort Wayne. In his second start, keeper Michael Sly Jr. dazzled in net, making multiple diving saves and even a one-on-one save late in the second half. 

Redshirt senior Dawsun Schrum continued to lead the OU offense as they hit the road for their first conference matchup. The Sterling Heights Stevenson alum planted a beautiful ball for midfielder Owen Smith to bury into the back of the PFW goal. 

With that assist, Schrum became the only Golden Grizzly to tally both a goal and an assist on the early regular-season. 

The Horizon League's reigning Head Coach of the Year, Eric Pogue has recently spread the offensive opportunities around the roster. Oakland's offense showcased their depth by having a total of seven Golden Grizzlies attempting a shot against the Mastodons.  

OU has the opportunity to make waves in the world of NCAA Men's Soccer as GCU recently went on the road and defeated what was the No.4 team in the country, the UCLA Bruins. The loss caused the Bruins to drop to No. 13 in the latest rankings. 

This will be the first time Oakland and GCU have faced off against one another in the history of both programs.

SCOUTING REPORT

Oakland's defense will have their work cut out for them as the Lopes are predicted to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) when it is all said and done. 

GCU is a team loaded with all-conference level talent both offensively and defensively. The Antelopes' Shaun Joash and Rodolfo Pardo were selected to the preseason All-WAC as a forward and defender, respectively. 
 

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TOURNAMENT TEAM RETURNS
Oakland is coming off a historic entry into the NCAA Tournament after winning both the regular season and tournament Horizon League titles, falling in the first round to Northern Illinois.

NO. 1 IN THE LEAGUE
Oakland was picked to finish first in the Horizon League in the annual #HLMSOC Preseason Coaches Poll.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Head Coach Eric Pogue was named Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2021 following a 10-6-2 overall record, 8-1-1 in conference play.

ALL-LEAGUE RETURNERS
The Golden Grizzlies reload in 2022 with four of the seven All-Horizon League honorees last season in Mikey Ketteman, Reid Sproat, Ville Ahola, and Kai Garvey.

NEWCOMER IMPACT
With plenty of new faces to go around, Oakland was introduced to fire power in the exhibition games in Charlie Retzler, Ahmad Hamad, Jace Foster, and Addrian Knights-Browne to name a few.