After recording a pair of wins earlier in the week, the Oakland University men’s soccer team played eighteenth-ranked Dayton to a 0-0 draw Sunday night in their home opener at the Ultimate Soccer Arena.

The game was played almost entirely between the 18-yard boxes with neither team able to put consistent pressure on the other team’s goalkeeper. While Oakland attempted to play its offense through long balls to Stefan St. Louis, Dayton’s defense would not allow St. Louis an inch of breathing space. Every time it seemed St. Louis had a chance to break free it was quickly negated as he was surrounded by at least two Dayton defensemen and forced to give up the ball. St. Louis broke free about 15 minutes into the second half, but had his shot at point-blank range stopped by Dayton’s goalkeeper, redshirt freshman Josh Lavalee, who was making his first collegiate start.

Forward Makesi Lewis provided the only real excitement for Oakland on the offensive side of the ball, as he was able to take the ball from the midfield into the heart of Dayton’s defense with regularity. His speed, skill, and strength made him difficult to knock off the ball, but his efforts failed to produce many chances.

Oakland’s defense, which has allowed just one goal in three regular season matches, showed the crowd of nearly 500 that the rock solid play they witnessed in the exhibitions is likely to continue through the regular season. Dayton was just as unsuccessful as Oakland in attempts to generate any real offensive threats. Machel James and Vuk Popovic stood out for OU, as they simply would not allow Dayton any quality chances. Using their organization and strength to knock around Dayton’s midfielders and attackers and disrupt the flow of Dayton’s attack, the defense demonstrated that coach Eric Pogue’s confidence in their ability is rightly founded.

If Mitch Hildebrant had any nerves before his first ever home opener as Oakland’s starting keeper, he certainly did not let them get in his way. Hildebrant seemed to ooze confidence on the field. Whether he was barreling forward to gobble up a loose ball or grabbing a corner kick out of the air, the first-year starter did it swiftly and without hesitation. Dayton’s best chance of the night came when forward Jeff Popella found himself with some space in front of Oakland’s goal and fired a shot that looked like it had a real chance of going in. That was until Hildebrant made one of his best saves of the early season and stretched out, horizontal and in flight, to deflect the shot over the goal with one hand.

Although very happy with his team’s strong start to the season, Pogue said he knows the defending Summit League Champions need to take the victories for what they are.

“I could not be more proud of the team at this stage of the season,” Pogue said. “But we all realize that it is a long season and it is how you are playing in November that matters most.”