Kalamazoo, Mich. - After a tie and back-to-back wins, Oakland's win streak is halted as they dropped a tough road game 5-0 against Western Michigan on Wednesday.
Oakland struggled to get the offense going, their only shot being a hard kicked ball by freshman midfielder Donavan Phillips, which missed wide left.
The Golden Grizzlies' highlight play was an incredible jumping save by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Michael Sly Jr. in the 12' minute, keeping the game knotted at zero.
Sly Jr. recorded seven saves throughout the match, his third highest single-game total of the season
With ten seconds remaining in the first half, Western Michigan struck first as freshman Noah James elevated and tapped in a header on a corner kick by graduate student Tom Cooklin.
The Broncos followed up with a quick second half strike as Cooklin notched his second assist of the day, lobbing a free kick to graduate student Dylan Sing to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead in the 48' minute.
"They (WMU) punished us on set pieces late in the first half and early in the second half, and we were chasing the game from then on and it got away from us quick," said Oakland Head Coach Eric Pogue after the game. "We looked and played sluggish, and WMU is a very good team that played very well".
The Cooklin and Sing connection would strike again in the 58' minute as Sing snuck past Sly Jr. for his second goal of the day, and Cooklin's third of four assists on the day.
The Broncos would score twice more, in the 67' minute and the 87' minute, to seal their victory.
This is Oakland's first loss since losing to IUPUI 2-1 on Sept. 23.
"We have to put this behind us and refocus quickly on an important Horizon League game on Saturday," said 'Pogue.
Oakland's record drops to 4-6-2. The Golden Grizzlies look to get back in the W column as they return home to face league opponent Wright State on Saturday, Oct. 14 to celebrate Alumni Day.
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