Junior Stefan St. Louis scored his eighth goal of the season in the 59th minute, but the Oakland University men's soccer team (14-5) was unable to find the back of the net again as the Golden Grizzlies (14-4-1) fell to UMKC (10-6-3) in the championship game of The Summit League men's soccer championship, finishing 110 minutes of play tied 1-1 before falling 4-3 in a shootout.
"The guys gave everything they had, and played well with 10 men," said head coach Gary Parsons. "We just couldn't get it in."
The Golden Grizzlies took a 1-0 lead on St. Louis' 59th minute goal, but UMKC tied the contest as Brian Harris kicked the ball out of keeper Mitch Hildebrandt's hands, and found the back of the net during the 68th minute.
OU carried play for the majority of the game, ending with a 27-11 advantage on shots, and an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal. OU also had eight corner kicks and eight fouls, while UMKC had four corner kicks and 13 fouls. The OU defense held UMKC to just one shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes of play.
Oakland had numerous chances down the stretch, including one in the final five minutes of regulation as senior Piotr Nowak's shot was saved by UMKC keeper Ken Cooper. In the first overtime, OU's Tom Catalano beat the keeper in the 92nd minute, opening a route to the net, but his shot hit the post. In the second overtime, Sebastian Harris had an opportunity in the 107th minute, but his shot went wide left.
"With one less guy on the field, you can't press like we like to press," added Parsons. "You have to absorb some of their game and counterattack, which we did a good job of. We got a lot of good chances despite being down 10 men to nine."
The Golden Grizzlies will wait now for the announcement of the tournament field of the NCAA College Cup, with the hope of capturing an at-large bid. The tournament field will be announced as part of a selection show on ESPNU at 6 p.m. Monday, November 17.