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Golden Grizzlies held scoreless in loss to Western Illinois

Dan Stickradt | October 24, 2011 | Comments (0)

MACOMB, Ill. — Oakland University’s scoring woes continues in 1-0 setback to Western Illinois.

Gavin Hoy had a shot cleared off the line and the Oakland men’s soccer team failed to score in a, 1-0 loss in a Summit League match at Western Illinois on Saturday at the John MacKenzie Alumni Field. The Golden Grizzlies outshot the Leathernecks 23-19, but did not score.

“I am absolutely not happy with our performance today,” said Oakland head coach Eric Pogue. “I am especially displeased with the first 25 minutes of the first half where we didn’t seem interested in competing and WIU certainly did. Not until after we gave up the goal did we decide to wake up and fight,”

The Golden Grizzlies (4-9-1, 1-2-0) outshot Western Illinois 11-8 in the first half, but both teams had just three shots on goal each. Oakland continued the pressure with a 12-11 edge in second-half shots, including Hoy’s effort, which was cleared off the line.

Nathan Bruinsma gave Western Illinois (7-5-1, 2-1-0) the lead in the 22^nd minute when he slotted the ball in from three yards from a pass by Daniel Lewis.

“There was a long list of certain key players like Winston Henderson, Andrew Barrett, Sean Magee, Konner McNamara, and Mitch Hildebrandt, etc. who didn’t bring the type of effort and mind set needed to compete against one of the top teams in conference,” said Pogue. “That kind of effort is not something we can tolerate and it’s not acceptable to me.”

Goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt made six saves for OU, while Andy Ryan made five saves for WIU. The only time Ryan was beaten during the match, his defense cleared the ball away for a team save. The Fighting Leathernecks managed a 7-6 edge in shots on goal.

“We’ve got no choice now but to win our next two league games to get into the tournament,” added Pogue. “That won’t be an easy task. Talent and skill only get you so far. Heart, effort, desire, drive, intensity and dedication mean much more. Guys that exhibit those qualities are the only players that will touch field for those two do-or-die games.”

The Golden Grizzlies return to action on Wednesday hosting Ohio State at the OU Soccer Field at 7 p.m. The two teams met in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and played to a 0-0 tie at the OU Soccer Field, OSU advanced in the tournament in a shootout.