Junior Makesi Lewis scored a goal for the Golden Grizzlies at the 35:04 mark of the match and sophomore goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt made six saves, but it wasn’t enough as the Oakland University men’s soccer team (2-1-1) fell to Northwestern (1-1-1) 2-1 Friday afternoon at the NIU adidas/Magnuson Inn and Suites Invitational on the campus of Northern Illinois University.
The Wildcats struck first at 12:41 when Matt Eliason received an assist from Oliver Kupe and Piero Bellizzi across the box to give Northwestern an early 1-0 advantage.
Just under 15 minutes later at 26:26, the Wildcats scored again when Eliason notched his second goal of the match off a pass from Bellizzi at the top of the box to bring the game to a 2-0 score.
Lewis got the Golden Grizzlies on the board at 35:04 when he notched his second goal of the season off a feed from sophomore Daiki Mori inside the box and curled the ball into the top corner of the net, making the score 2-1 going into the half.
Oakland University clamped down on the defensive end after the first 45 minutes and didn’t allow a goal in the second half. Oakland fought to even the score with three shots on goal, but none were able to connect with the back of the net, resulting in the match’s 2-1 final score.
The Golden Grizzlies were outshot 15-11 and only fired four shots on goal compared to Northwestern’s eight. The Wildcats also held the advantage in corner kicks 8-3 and Oakland committed 15 fouls compared to the Wildcats’ 13.
"The positives we take away are our ability to persevere and find a way to battle back and make a game of it," said Pogue. "We had chances to even the game up, but couldn't capitalize. We never hung our head and gave in; we kept up the fight."
The Golden Grizzlies will next take on tournament host No. 22 Northern Illinois University on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m. The match can be followed via Gametracker at www.ougrizzlies.com.