Oakland soccer to face top-seed Western Illinois at Summit League Tournament

ROCHESTER HILLS – The Oakland men’s soccer team will face regular-season champions Western Illinois on Friday in the semifinal round of The Summit League Men’s Soccer Championship at the Durwood Soccer Complex at 6 p.m. ET. The match will air live on Fox College Sports (FCS Atlantic).

“Western Illinois is a very strong program,” said Oakland head coach Eric Pogue. “They are a good team that beat us the last time we played. We know they are a tough team and we’ll have our hands full, but we’re excited to get back on the field and play them.”

The Golden Grizzlies (6-11-1) claimed the final spot in the league tournament with a 2-0 victory over IUPUI on the last day of the regular season. John Timm scored the match-winning goal, while Miche’le Lipari made it 2-0 with a curling strike from 22 yards out. Mitch Hildebrandt earned his third shutout of the season on Senior Day.

“I think it’s been a resilient team from day-one,” said head coach Eric Pogue. “This group has played well when their backs are against the wall.”

FINISHING ON TOP: Oakland University forward Jake Przybycien and the Golden Grizzlies hope to finish on top at this weekend's Summit League Tournament. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

Oakland has shared the scoring load for most of the season, with Jeff Cheslik scoring a team-high four goals. Josh Bennett leads the team with 10 points this year scoring three goals with four assists. Jake Przybycien has three goals and three assists, while five other players have scored two goals each, including Timm, Lipari, Andrew Barrett and Johnny Dreshaj.

Defensively, Oakland ended the season with back-to-back shutouts of league opponents, totaling four on the season. All three of Hildebrandt’s shutouts came in league play. The senior goalkeeper is one of four OU players to earn Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honors, along with Timm, Konner McNamara and John DeLeon.

Nathan Bruinsma and Daniel Lewis netted five goals each this season to lead the Fighting Leathernecks’ offense. Three other players added three goals each, to help Western Illinois claim the top seed at The Summit League Championship.  Defensively, four-time Summit League Defensive Player of the Week, Andy Ryan led Western Illinois. The WIU netminder had  eight shutouts with a .837 save percentage that ranked in the top-25 nationally.

The all-time series between Oakland and Western Illinois (11-6-1) stands even at 7-7-2. Earlier this season, the Leathernecks beat Oakland 1-0 in a match played on the WIU campus. In postseason play, WIU is 2-1 against Oakland.

“We have a hard-working group of players who never give up,” concluded Pogue. “Our team dealt with a lot of adversity, but always seemed to perform their best when it mattered most. That’s the sign of a team that has a lot of perseverance and heart, which should bode well for us this weekend.”

The Golden Grizzlies are the defending Summit League champions, having won last year’s tournament at the OU Soccer Field. This year the tournament is hosted by UMKC. The other semifinal will feature No. 2 IPFW against No. 3 Oral Roberts.

Tags: Men's Soccer, NCAA Men's Soccer, Oakland University Men's Soccer, soccer, Summit League Men's Soccer, Western Illinois Men's Soccer

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