Sullivan’s OT goal lifts Michigan past Oakland

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Playing on a wet surface, Noble Sullivan understands as a forward that when a player is within range, always take a shot and hope for the best.

Sullivan’s instincts paid off Wednesday night.

The University of Michigan sophomore unleashed a low shot just inside the penalty box that found the net midway through the second overtime to lead the Wolverines to a 2-1 men’s soccer victory over Oakland University in a game played under a steady drizzle.

Oakland’s Andrew Barrett nearly won the game for Oakland when his long chip from 35 yards out clanked off the crossbar. On the ensuing counterattack, Sullivan got into the box, spun around and his shot clipped the heel of an OU defender and into the goal in the 105^th minute to lift Michigan (4-9-1) to the much-needed, non-conference victory.

“When you are in that position, you can hope for a good skip or a good bounce and that’s exactly what happened,” smiled Sullivan, who collected his first goal of the season with the game winner. “We had another forward, Tyler Arnone, who was making a run and I heard him screaming for the ball, so I decided to hit it as hard as I can at the far post and see what happens. I figured that it would deflect off somebody or find Tyler at the far post. The defender cut in front and it deflected off him.”

Behind a 10-0 shots advantage in the first half, Michigan took a 1-0 lead in the 31^st minute when Kofi Opare headed home a cornerkick from Adam Shaw.

Oakland came out rejuvenated in the second half and finally netted the equalizer with 24:09 to play in regulation. Winston Henderson slipped a low cross into the box and Jake Przybycien was in the middle of traffic to redirect the ball home to forge overtime.

Both goalkeepers, Oakland’s Mitch Hildebrandt and Michigan’s Adam Grinwis, both had several saves and came off the line to take crosses out of danger down the stretch until Sullivan’s late-game heroics.

Michigan reached the NCAA national semifinals last season, but graduation, transfers and players opting to play overseas left the Wolverines in a major rebuilding mode. The win against an in-state rival could not have come at a better time.

“It took a long time developing that play. We were patient,” admitted Burns, whose team was waiting patiently to get a go open within close range. “We put Sullivan in there with about six minutes left in OT because he’s a guy that can threaten with speed. We saw that play developing. Noble hit low and got the deflection and we were able to get the bounce. Luck was on our side this time.

“This was a great win and the type of win that we haven’t had all season long,” continued Burns. “It showed that we had some heart and we found a way to win. It hasn’t been easy this season.”

Oakland (2-9-1) is in the similar boat, struggling to score goals or catch a break in tight games. The Golden Grizzlies were an NCAA tournament team last season as well.

It’s one of those years. I told the guys in the huddle (after the game) that I can’t fault their heart, can’t fault their effort,” said Oakland coach Eric Pogue. “Every game we play hard and battle, stay in games. Sometimes we dig ourselves a hole and sometimes we totally outplay the other team and still just can’t catch a break. It’s one of those years where things just don’t go our way.

“Credit to my team because they never give up. They’ll come to practice the next day and will work even harder,” continued Pogue. “Our goalie made some MLS-style, ESPN-highlight saves and some of our other guys made some great plays to keep us in the game. But for whatever the reason, we just’ can’t seem to catch the break needed to win some of these close games.”

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Tags: Oakjland University Men's Soccer, University of Michigan Men'sSoccer

Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other, High School, Oakland University