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UNLEASH THE GRIZZ

Oakland University Athletics

Scoreboard

MSOC vs U of M
1
Oakland Oaklnd (0-3-0, 0-0-0)
2
Winner Butler Butler (2-0-1, 0-0-0)
Oakland Oaklnd
(0-3-0, 0-0-0)
1
Final
2
Butler Butler
(2-0-1, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Oakland Oaklnd 0 1 1
Butler Butler 1 1 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Jordan Nelson

Late Goal Dooms Golden Grizzlies as they Fall to Butler

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Golden Grizzlies headed to Indianapolis in what turned out to be a wild weekend affair against the Butler Bulldogs.

The midwest matchup would start a bit slower than anticipated, as just 12 minutes into the original match was halted and delayed due to lightning and weather conditions. After another start and delay, the game was officially postponed and moved to Saturday, where the teams would restart and play the full 90 minute match.

With the game officially under way,  Butler's Lou-Kent Bosc kicked the match off with a shot just 52 seconds into the match, though it sailed high. Oakland responded with their first shot in the 7th minute from Marco Mazzei, which was blocked by Butler's defense. 

Although with no early breakthroughs for Oakland they were able to routinely test Butler's defense early on, with several of early shot attempts, including another shot by Mazzei in the 14th minute and one by Jack Klomparens in the 28th minute, both which were blocked.

Butler broke the deadlock in the 14th minute as Josemir Gomez, with assists from Palmer Ault and Ryan Hannosh, netted his third goal of the season slotting the ball past Oakland's goalkeeper Alex Flowers, giving Butler a 1-0 lead, which they held going into halftime.

After the first half of play the teams sat neck-and-neck in the box score. The Bulldogs had the slim edge in shots (5-to-7) and shots on goal (2-to-0), while Oakland led in corner kicks (4-to-2). Marco Mazzei led the way with two shots for Oakland, both coming in the first 15 minutes of the game. Luke Benford and Abdul Al-Rashed both registered shots in the first half in their season debuts, while Jack Klomparens also tallied a shot in the opening 45 minutes.

Oakland kept pressing to start the second frame and finally found an equalizer shortly after the second half began. In the 48th minute, Francesco Mazzei pounced on a loose ball inside the box and fired a shot past Butler's Caleb Norris to level the score at 1-1, scoring not only his first goal of the season, but his first as a Golden Grizzly, helping spark a crucial moment for Oakland as they looked to seize momentum.

With the game looking like it was heading towards a draw, Butler reclaimed the lead in the 86th minute as Henri Kumwenda scored his first goal of the season on a sky-scraping header attempt, assisted by Joost de Schutter. 

Despite Oakland's late efforts, including shots from Malik Sylvester and Jayden Pinheiro in the dying minutes, they couldn't find another equalizer, and the match ended 2-1 in favor of Butler.
Despite their best efforts, Oakland fell to their third straight defeat, leaving them still searching for their first win of the season.The squad just couldn't manufacture a high-volume of on target shots in he loss, recording 11 shots, with only two on target, compared to Butler's 12 shots, four of which were on target. Francesco Mazzei was the standout player for Oakland, scoring their only goal. Meanwhile, Alex Flowers made two crucial saves over a full 90 minutes. 

The Golden Grizzlies will enjoy a week-long break from competition to sharpen their skills before returning home to take on UIC on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.
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