ROCHESTER, Mich. - The reigning Horizon League regular season champions are ready to get back on the pitch, as the Golden Grizzlies men's soccer team has announced its 2024 fall schedule.

Oakland will start the season with a trio of exhibitions, beginning on Saturday, Aug. 10 as they head to Chicago State University. The final two friendlies will be at home for the Golden Grizzlies on Wednesday, Aug. 14 and Saturday, Aug. 17 as they host Bethel (Ind.) and the University of Texas Rio Grande to finish an early fall warmup period.

The first official game of the season will come in home territory as the Golden Grizzlies host the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Thursday, Aug. 22. The two teams have only met twice, each holding a win apiece to their names in the head to head matchup.

Next, Oakland hits the road for a highly touted matchup against Michigan on Sunday, Aug. 25 in Ann Arbor. Oakland looks to make it two straight wins against the Wolverines after an electric 2-1 win on the Oakland Soccer Field last season.

After their in-state showdown, Oakland will close out a short two-game road stint by traveling to Butler (8/30) to take on the Bulldogs before returning home to play five of the next six games at home, as they look to build upon a strong 4-2 regular season home record in 2023. The home stand features matches hosting UIC (9/6), Michigan State (9/9), a league play opening matchup against Cleveland State (9/14), Loyola Chicago (9/17), and IU Indy (9/28) on their home field. Sandwiched in is a quick trip to Northern Kentucky (9/21).

With a home stand concluded, a quick road trip is in order for the Golden Grizzlies as they travel to Milwaukee (10/5), as they look to make it six straight matchups against the Panthers without a loss, and DePaul (10/8) for their final non-conference game.

Oakland will close the regular season with another home-heavy stretch, playing three of their final five games in Rochester, welcoming Purdue Fort Wayne (10/12) as they try to make it six straight wins against the Mastodons, a team in Robert Morris that the Golden Grizzlies have not lost to in six matchups (10/26), and senior day in the home finale against Green Bay (11/1).

In between these home games will be a trip to Wright State (10/19) and a Metro Series regular season finale at Detroit Mercy (11/5) where Oakland has not lost since 2010.

The Golden Grizzlies look to take advantage of a schedule of 11 home games and pave their path back to the Horizon League Championship game for the second straight season.