ROCHESTER, Mich. – The first wave of fall weather rolled into Rochester on Sunday night as the Oakland Men's Soccer team fell to the Butler Bulldogs 1-2 after the final whistle. 

Butler controlled possession the first few minutes of the contest which resulted in a goal by midfielder Jack Haywood at the 26' of the first half. 

However, as halftime neared, the Golden Grizzlies managed to flip the field and take matters into their own hands. 

Second chance opportunities carried over from Oakland's previous match against the DePaul Blue Demons. The 40' in the first half saw a shot from OU freshman, Kevin Hubbel that was blocked by a Butler defender and immediately fired back towards the Butler goal by freshman Ahmad Hamad.

Hamad's shot was blocked by a Butler defender in nearly identical fashion as fellow freshman Hubbel's was.

The Golden Grizzlies would knot up the game early in the second half. In an attempt to cross the ball across the field, Senior defender Micah Sonnenberg kicked the ball that would strike a Butler defender in the knee prior to arriving at its intended destination and landing in the back of Butler's net, resulting in a team goal.

The post and crossbar were not kind to OU tonight. For the second game in a row, Finland native, Ville Ahola, got off a beautiful shot that would strike the right woodwork. That was not the end for nearly-goal-scoring shots from the black and gold tonight. 

Just five minutes from the final whistle Oakland was set to attempt a corner kick. New Zealand native, Owen Smith would boot the corner kick and send a high arcing shot towards the top right corner of the Bulldogs goal. Despite the brilliant shot placement, Smith's corner kick nailed the crossbar. 

Defensively, Freshman keeper Michael Sly Jr. got his first start as a Golden Grizzly tonight and faced an onslaught of Bulldog's shots. Sly Jr. showcased his aggressive play in net and managed to prevent ten shots from getting past the white line. 

Joining Sly Jr. in their first start in black and gold was Freshman midfielder Doug Hainer. Hainer saw 86 minutes on the pitch, won many 50-50 balls, and complemented Oakland's defense in his first start for Head Coach Eric Pogue. 

The Golden Grizzlies will regroup and aim to make their inaugural mark in the win column for the 2022 regular-season as they travel to Fort Wayne, Ind. and kick off Horizon League play against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1:00pm at Hefner Soccer Field.