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Freshman Shane Lyons got the Golden Grizzlies on the board in the 63rd minute and freshman Leshorn Woods-Henry nailed the game-winner just 10 minutes later at 73:08 as the Oakland University men’s soccer team (7-4-2, 4-0 Summit League) defeated IUPUI (1-9-3, 0-2-1) by a 2-1score for their fourth straight league win Saturday night at the Ultimate Soccer Arena.

“This is was an exciting league game and when these two teams play, you can throw their records out the window because you know they are going to battle and give you 150 percent,” said head coach Eric Pogue. “Shane Lyons was able to give us the energy we needed with his first goal and then Leshorn put it away for us. We put two complete halves together, something we have been struggling with this season.”

The Jags got on the board first in the 22nd minute when Nate Ohmer accepted a feed from the left side from Perez Agaba and buried the ball in the right side of the net to give IUPUI the early 1-0 lead.

OU nearly tied the game in the conclusion of the first half when junior Makesi Lewis fired a bullet inside the box, but his shot deflected off the front of the crossbar, thus allowing IUPUI to preserve their lead going into halftime.

Lyons knotted the match up 1-1 in the 63rd minute when he beat the goalkeeper on an unassisted play. Just ten minutes later, Woods-Henry had an unassisted goal of his own, this time the game-winner, to give the Golden Grizzlies a 2-1 lead.

Oakland would have to play short-handed just after that when senior Stefan St. Louis was given a red card in the 74th minute, thus leaving the Golden Grizzlies a man short for the last 15 minutes of the contest.

The disadvantage wouldn’t matter, however, as OU was able to hold down the IUPUI offense to secure the 2-1 victory, keeping their Summit League record a perfect 4-0.

Oakland held the advantage in shots and corner kicks, 20-11 and 6-2, respectively, while both teams committed 13 fouls in the match. Sophomore goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt made five saves for the Golden Grizzlies.

“We’re going to have to regroup quickly and prepare for an in-state match-up against Detroit,” said Pogue. “We’re going to be missing a few guys so we hope to carry this momentum over into that contest.”

The Golden Grizzlies will face off against Detroit in a non-league tilt on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. at the OU Soccer Field. It will be their last home game of the season and can be followed on Gametracker at www.ougrizzlies.com.
Leshorn Woods-Henry