Reigning Horizon League Coach of the Year, Eric Pogue and company will make the trek out to Fort Wayne, Indiana to battle the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1:00pm at Hefner Soccer Field, in what will be the teams first match versus a conference opponent this season.
Saturday's contest will be the first of a four game road trip for Oakland. After the match against the Mastodons, OU will head out to the desert to face Grand Canyon University (9/13), before heading back to the midwest for matches at Michigan (9/19) and Bowling Green (9/23).
The Golden Grizzlies enter Saturday's match in search of their first win of the 2022 regular-season, after nearly accomplishing that feat in their previous game against Butler.
The field seemed to be tilted towards the Bulldog's goal in the second half as Oakland controlled possession for most of the remaining 45-minutes. OU had a multitude of shots and scoring chances in the latter half of the game including two shots that struck the post. One from Oakland's leader in total shots, Ville Ahola and another from redshirt junior Owen Smith.
OU's offense has come to life ever since returning from their first two games where they faced Creighton (8/25) and Omaha (8/28).
The first road trip of the season (against Creighton and Omaha) the Golden Grizzlies got off a total of 12 shots. In their previous two games (against DePaul and Butler) the Oakland offense managed to produce 19 shots, five of which forced the opposing team's keeper to make a save.
Nearly a year ago to the date, Oakland hosted the Mastodons at the Oakland Soccer Field in what was a winning effort for the would-be Horizon League Champions as they defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 2-0.
Historically, the Golden Grizzlies have dominated the Mastodons. OU has the edge in the all-time series with eight wins and just one loss versus PFW.
SCOUTING REPORT
The Mastodons are 1-1-2 so far this season with their lone victory coming at home against Western Illinois. This will also be the first match against a Horizon League opponent of the 2022 season for PFW.
The offensive work-load is spread evenly for Purdue Fort Wayne as five Mastodons have tallied at least one goal and one assist this season. Forward Seth Mahlmeister spearheads the PFW offense. The 6-foot-2 Ohio native has seven shots, three of which were on target in the 2022 season.
TOURNAMENT TEAM RETURNS
Oakland is coming off a historic entry into the NCAA Tournament after winning both the regular season and tournament Horizon League titles, falling in the first round to Northern Illinois.
NO. 1 IN THE LEAGUE
Oakland was picked to finish first in the Horizon League in the annual #HLMSOC Preseason Coaches Poll.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Head Coach Eric Pogue was named Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2021 following a 10-6-2 overall record, 8-1-1 in conference play.
ALL-LEAGUE RETURNERS
The Golden Grizzlies reload in 2022 with four of the seven All-Horizon League honorees last season in Mikey Ketteman, Reid Sproat, Ville Ahola, and Kai Garvey.
NEWCOMER IMPACT
With plenty of new faces to go around, Oakland was introduced to fire power in the exhibition games in Charlie Retzler, Ahmad Hamad, Jace Foster, and Addrian Knights-Browne to name a few.
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