Oakland men's soccer heads to NCAA national championship tournament

"Seguir Virtute E Canoscenza."

That's the Oakland University motto which means to "seek virtue and knowledge," and the men's soccer program under the direction of Horizon League's Head Coach of the Year Eric Pogue has epitomized that motto this season.

Recommended Videos



The team started out with a 0-5 record and knew that they needed to find a way to change the direction they were headed. The coaches and players had to dig deep and go through their game tapes, practices and positions to gain the knowledge to determine what might help to turn a losing season into a winning one. The way the Grizzlies would accomplish this feat was with heart, hard work, determination and always through virtue.

Follow @KellyHaapala on Twitter for the latest college soccer news. 
View: ClickOnDetroit Soccer Section

"When we reevaluated what we need to do in our commitment to team defending, every guy accepted their role in that process," said Pogue. "If we do not go through those trials and tribulations and come out stronger on the other end, we probably are not sitting here."

Oakland faced Wright State University who had defeated University of Detroit 2-0 just a few days prior while Oakland defeated Cleveland State 2-1 in the semifinals.

The Grizzlies would beat WSU 2-1 and advance to the NCAA Division I National Tournament Championship for the 6th time since 2002 and first berth since 2010. This is their 3rd league tournament win in the last 8 years but the first under the Horizon League.

"I always believed in this team and despite some early season adversity, we really persevered and without that maybe we aren't standing here," said Pogue. "You have to credit everyone, the coaching staff, the support staff and the players for really believing and making this a reality."

Gerald Ben was named the MVP of the league championship with a goal and an assist and was also named this week to the College Soccer News Team of the Week. Gerald Ben, Gavin Hoy, John DeLeon and Cody Archibald were also named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.

Saturday night's game had early excitement for the Golden Grizzly home crowd when in the 6th minute Gerald Ben with a precise pass to Matt Dudley who toes the ball past the charging keeper to Joey Tinnion who slots it in for the 1-0 lead.

Ben would again try to set up a goal in the 35th minute of play by making a pass to Tinnion in front of the net and with two defenders on him, Tinnion was taken down and fouled in the box. Gerald made sure this potential goal counted when he took the penalty kick and found the net for the 2-0 lead.

Oakland would not score again on the night but would continue to fight the rest of the game to maintain the lead despite a goal in the 73rd minute by WSU's Sam Deroy who found Marquis Payton's left foot in the box that tipped it over the Grizzlies GK Wes Mink and into the net to make it 2-1 on the scoreboard.

The intensity of the game and the fight for the title culminated in the 80th minute when things began to get chippy amongst the players with a yellow card issued to a player on each team after a call was made.

Toward the end of the game, the Oakland fans, despite the chilly 30 degree exposure, could not contain their excitement and jumped up from their comforts of the blankets and cocoa with just a few minutes left on the clock to cheer their team on to victory and then stormed the field to join in the celebration in front of the net.

29821832

Pogue's Golden Grizzlies have traveled to Kentucky to face the #18 squad in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 7pm Thursday evening November 20th.

The winner of this first round matchup will journey to East Lansing's DeMartin Stadium to face host and No. 3 seed Michigan State Spartans on Sunday, November 23rd at 1pm.

Oakland has faced MSU earlier in the season and prevailed 2-0 over the currently ranked #10 Spartans. The history for Oakland's appearances in the NCAA Tournament of 1-4-1 all-time includes Michigan State as well when they had their lone national tournament win in 2007 at State.

Kickoff for Oakland University will be on November 20th at 7pm in Lexington Kentucky at Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex for the NCAA Division I First Round National Tournament matchup against Kentucky.