As it looks to build off its 2021 Horizon League Championship season, the Oakland University men’s soccer team revealed its 2022 slate.

The Golden Grizzlies, led by the most recent winner of the Horizon League Coach of the Year award, Eric Pogue, finished the 2021 season with a 12-7-2 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

The Golden Grizzlies rolled through conference play with an 8-1-1 record and stormed their way past UIC and Cleveland State to win the Horizon League.

The season came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when Oakland fell to Northern Illinois, 2-1.

Pogue and the Golden Grizzlies will now head into the 2022 season with a full head of steam, looking to defend their 2021 title and get back to the NCAA Tournament.

The team will open the season with three exhibition games. It will host Saginaw Valley and Ohio State on Aug. 13 and 16 before it heads to Ohio to take on the Akron Zips on Aug. 19.

“We have put together another top class Fall 2022 schedule that will help us with achieving our ultimate goals come mid-November of winning Horizon League championships, advancing into the NCAA Tournament, and being a nationally recognized program,” said Pogue.

After its three exhibition games, Oakland will make a trip to Nebraska to take on Creighton and Omaha in late August. 

September will begin with a two-game home stand as the Golden Grizzlies host DePaul and Butler. Oakland will take on Butler on Sept. 4 but won’t return home again until Sept. 28.

In between home games, Pogue will take the Golden Grizzlies on a four-game road trip. They will take on Purdue Fort Wayne, Grand Canyon, Michigan and Bowling Green.

Pogue spoke on the tough nonconference schedule that awaits the Golden Grizzlies this season.

“Scheduling a non-conference slate that includes the likes of national and regional powers Creighton, Grand Canyon, Michigan, Akron, Ohio State, Butler, DePaul, WMU, BGSU, Omaha and SVSU will be a stiff test week in and week out, but this experience will ultimately help prepare us for the always difficult Horizon League championship race,” said Pogue, “We want to play the very best teams possible at Oakland University Men’s Soccer.”

Following the nonconference slate, Oakland will settle in to a slew of Horizon League matches. The Golden Grizzlies will face a conference opponent in eight of their last nine games of the regular season.

Pogue says the tough nonconference schedule will give his team two chances to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament — One via an at-large bid, and another via winning the Horizon League Tournament.

“Our schedule will give us two strong opportunities to make the NCAA Tournament, one as the Horizon League Tournament champions and two by potentially receiving an NCAA At-Large which we’ve done twice before with strong out of conference results,” said Pogue.

If Pogue and the team can build off of last year’s success, they will find themselves with another chance to claim their spot in the NCAA Tournament and possibly even advance to the second round.