ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland Men's Soccer team aims to make it two-straight in the win column as the Golden Grizzlies are set to welcome in cross-town challenger, Detroit Mercy Saturday evening at 7:00pm at the Oakland Soccer Field presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield #MIKidsCan.
Wednesday night, it appeared the difficult non-conference schedule consisting of multiple matches against an upper echelon Men's Soccer conference, the Big East, had paid off for the black and gold.
Oakland proved that iron sharpens iron. After emerging from a four-game road trip and a relentless non-conference schedule, the Golden Grizzlies took the pitch with a visible new energy and confidence as they headed into conference play.
OU passed the eye test and had the stats to back it up as they captured their inaugural victory of the 2022 regular-season versus Robert Morris University, a match that featured a senior-led attack, with goals from seniors Dawsun Schrum and Reid Sproat.
Juniors Owen Smith and Gabriel Baylon assisted on the Schrum goal, while Ville Ahola placed a beautiful pass off of a free kick towards the RMU net that was finished off via a header from Sproat, giving OU the 2-1 edge for the remainder of regulation.
The win brought Oakland's conference record to 1-0-1, which places the Golden Grizzlies fourth in the conference behind Wright State, Cleveland State, and Robert Morris. Currently, Oakland is one of three Horizon League teams with both at least one win and zero losses in conference play.
Historically, OU has had full control over the series. In 22 total matchups with the Titans, Oakland boasts a 12-3-7 record and has never lost back to back matches.
SCOUTING REPORT
Detroit Mercy will enter Saturday's match as the only Horizon League program without a win or a loss in conference play this season. As of now, the Titans' conference record stands at 0-0-3 with ties against Cleveland State, IUPUI, and Green Bay.
The Titans offense features a passing led attack that creates equal opportunities as seven players have recorded an assist this season with another seven tallying a goal for the Titans'
Leading the attack for Detroit Mercy is 5-foot-11 New Jersey native, Samory Powder. Powder tops the roster in goals and assists for the Titans with two each. The Junior also has recorded points in four out of the seven regular-season games.
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.
