Oakland University men’s soccer opened the in-conference portion of their schedule with a 1-0 win over Oral Roberts Friday, Sept. 25.

The lone goal of the game came in the 77th minute on a well-orchestrated offensive play.

Oakland’s leading scorer, Stefan St. Louis, accelerated past a couple of Oral Roberts defenders and played the ball across the face of the goal. Teammate Josh Bennett and an Oral Roberts defender both went for the ball and missed it before OU freshman Johnny Dreshaj kicked it into the open net. Oral Roberts’ netminder was caught out of position, as it appeared he didn’t expect the ball to get through to Dreshaj.

The goal was Dreshaj’s second game-winning goal of the season.

It was Oakland’s second straight victory, following three straight tough losses. Head coach Eric Pogue said after the game that each game has to be taken in context.

“All three games were one goal losses against very good teams and we had opportunities to get results against each one, but came up short,” Pogue said. “With such a young team that is trying to find its identity, some times you find ways to win those games and sometimes you don’t.”

On Friday, the Golden Grizzlies played what was perhaps their most physical game of the season. Neither team could put much together in terms of offensive fluidity. For the most part, the officials kept their whistles in their pockets, allowing the two sides to continue despite many plays that could easily have warranted foul calls.

The lenience of the referees worked to Oakland’s advantage, according to Pogue.

“It is up to our players to deal with calls or non-calls in a professional and disciplined manner. We like a physical match, so we won’t shy away from a ref letting us play,” he said.

Mitch Hildebrandt earned his second shutout of the season and has really begun to show a certain comfort level and confidence that Grizzlies fans have gotten accustomed to seeing in net in recent years.

“Mitch has been very solid for us all season. He has been sharp in the goal, made the saves he is supposed to make, as well the key saves to keep us in games,” said Pogue. “He has really stepped up this season and filled a big void left by Steve Clark.”

Hildebrandt made five saves in the game, including one in the closing minutes to preserve the victory.

On Wednesday, the Grizzlies will be taking on the 24th-ranked Michigan Wolverines at the Ultimate Soccer Arena in Pontiac. OU will have the task of ending Michigan’s seven-game winning streak.

“Our entire focus this fall is on our conference games, but we put together an out of conference schedule that is one of the toughest,” said Pogue. “I am sure it won’t take much to get [the Grizzlies] motivated to play, especially in front of thousands of fans in a great environment at the Ultimate Soccer Arena.”

– Photo by Bob Knoska/The Oakland Post