Oakland draws MSU in Men’s Soccer College Cup

TOURNAMENT BOUND: Oakland University's Makesi Lewis and the Golden Grizzlies will be playing at Michigan State Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — After not playing the regular season, Oakland University head coach Eric Pogue figured there would be a good chance that Oakland University would draw either Michigan State or Notre Dame in the first-round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup.

Pogue’s hunch was right.

Oakland drew in-state rival Michigan State for a first-round game, and the Golden Grizzlies (7-10-3) will face the Spartans (11-7-1) in a first-round game Thursday, as announced Monday night on ESPNU. The game will be played at 1 p.m. in East Lansing.

“It’s an exciting match-up for our team,” said Pogue, who is in his second season as head coach and will be making his first NCAA appearance as head coach. “Even though we haven’t played during the regular season recently, there is a lot of familiarity between the two programs’ players and coaches.”

Oakland is making its third appearance in four years in the NCAA Tournament and fifth overall since moving to Division I in 1999.

The Golden Grizzlies are 3-0 against the Spartans all-time. The last meeting was a 2-1 win over MSU in the first-round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. It is the only NCAA Tournament victory for OU since moving to D-I.

OU was a national powerhouse in the NCAA Division II ranks, with three national runners-up squads under former coach Gary Parsons. Oakland is 1-4 in the D-I postseason, including a 1-0 shootout loss to Ohio State in the first-round two years ago. Overall, OU is 18-19 in the postseason, including 17-15 in Division II through the 1996 season, when the school began its two-year probationary period to become a D-I institution.

Oakland is 133-86-29 all-time in Division I.

The Golden Grizzlies qualified automatically for the NCAA Tournament by winning The Summit League Tournament, hosted at OU this past weekend. As the No. 3 seed, Oakland defeated IUPUI (3-0) and fourth-seeded Oral Roberts (2-0) to claim the trophy after losing in the conference tournament at home the past two years.

In 2008, Oakland lost in the Summit League finals to UMKC but still made the NCAA as an at-large school thanks to a top-30 RPI.

As for OU’s opponent, Michigan State, the Spartans qualified for the tournament with an at-large bid out of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished sixth in the Big Ten and were knocked out in the first round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament by eventual tournament champion Michigan. The Big Ten had six teams make the NCAA cut.

Playing in-state could bold well for Oakland, as the players are familiar with MSU’s personal, thanks to play in the USL-Premier Developmental League over the summer months and former play at the high school and club soccer level. The last time the two met in the NCAA, the game was played on a Friday afternoon.

“Playing in East Lansing is a great opportunity for our parents, alumni and fans to come support us,” said Pogue. “Even though the game time (1 p.m. on a Thursday) isn’t the most fan-friendly time, we are hoping that our fans will be able to come out and support this Oakland team at the NCAA Tournament.”

To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com.  To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com

Tags: featured

Category: Michigan Bucks, Oakland University