The Oakland University men’s soccer team defeated No. 10 ranked Michigan State 2-0 Wednesday night with goals from Matt Rickard and Gavin Hoy.

The team has gone 7-0-1 since starting 0-5. Oakland had not beaten a ranked opponent since facing Drake in 2010.

“They’re very good on attack, and they’re very good on defense. They’re a complete team,” Oakland head coach Eric Pogue said after the game. “We knew we were going to have to put together a full game-plan, a full 90 minutes, and credit to the guys for executing the game-plan.”

The first half was very defensive as both teams only found one real chance apiece. One was from Oakland forward Gerald Ben who found himself open in the box, but sent it high of the crossbar.

The Golden Grizzlies outshot the Spartans 7-4 in the first half and 14-9 overall.

The second half was a different story as Oakland poured on the attack.

“I think we were defending a lot, but we were getting a lot of opportunities off of counter-attacks. We cut their opportunities to a minimum,” Pogue said.

The game grew more physical in towards the end of the game with Derek Nowak drawing a yellow card for Oakland and Raphael Reynolds receiving a two-handed push from a Michigan State player after a foul was called. 

Oakland’s Matt Rickard responded at the other end of the field when he started a play with a flip over his head to Gavin Hoy. Hoy moved the ball to the other end of the field to Shawn Claud Lawson, who then found the Rickard back at the top of the box who was able to turn with the ball and put it in for Oakland’s first goal with seven minutes remaining.

“I struck it with my left foot and it was able to go in,” Rickard said, who came off the bench. 

When Pogue put him in the game, he said he was told to “make an impact.”

Rickard did just that, and moments later the team was able to put the game away with another goal from Gavin Hoy.

“I’d like to tell you that I can remember the goal, but all I remember was the ball hitting the back of the net,” Pogue said. “In terms of perseverance this team has proved it all season long.”

This game marks the sixth consecutive shutout for the Golden Grizzlies, making it the team’s longest such streak in their Division I era.