Oakland men’s soccer (1-1) took on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (1-1) in its second game of the season but dropped the match with a final score of  1-0.

SIUE was coming off a loss from Bowling Green and was looking to take it out on Oakland.

In the first half, SIUE controlled most of the play. They were first to the ball after it was headed out of the air and at times, Oakland was forcing their passes, playing long balls to nobody in particular.

“We were a bit lethargic and second to balls,” said head coach Eric Pogue.

The Golden Grizzlies also suffered two injuries. Midway through the half, Alex Serwatka and TC Hull of SIUE had a head-to-head collision while going up for a header.

Later in the game, Willie Maddox pulled up after a hard tackle, but continued to play. It wasn’t until the 42nd minute was when he couldn’t run anymore and had to be subbed out.

“It’s a tough loss,” Pogue said “Alex Serwatka and Willie Maddox both picked up head injuries and we have to prepare like we aren’t going to have them.”

SIUE kicked off the second half and continued their dominance. Oakland slowly started to creep into the game when SIUE’s Mohamed Awad whipped in an early cross from the wing to Jabari Danzi who scored on a header.

The game became very physical. Matt Dudley was called for a foul two times within 30 seconds for running into the goalie, but was almost rewarded for his hustle towards goal with a diving header that was just wide of the net in the 85^th minute.

Despite Oakland’s best efforts, they could not tie it up.

Oakland now has a tough three game road trip a head of them. They play Navy, UMBC, and Dayton before returning home on the Sept. 19 for homecoming.