Senior forward Makesi Lewis scored the match-winning goal to lead the Oakland men’s soccer team (4-7) to a 1-0 victory over Loyola-Chicago (3-6-2) on Saturday at the OU Soccer Field. With the win, the Golden Grizzlies snap a two-match losing skid.
Lewis scored the only goal of the match in the 58th minute to finish off a nice combination play for the Golden Grizzlies. Sophomore Tom Catalano started the play with a pass to junior Josh Bennett, who one-touch-passed the ball to junior Winston Henderson. Henderson looked to shoot first, but opted instead to pass the ball to Lewis, who put the ball in the back of the net. Lewis’s second goal of the season, gives him a share of the team’s goal-scoring lead.
Loyola outshot Oakland 20-10 and looked like the stronger team in the first half. The Ramblers’ Josh Westberg had the first chance to score, but hit an open header directly into junior goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt. Westberg also missed a one-on-one chance in the first half, when he fired his shot wide.
Oakland missed a chance to double the lead in the 78th minute when freshman Miche’le Lipari shot wide of the far post. Shortly after the miss, Loyola had its best chance of the match, when Andy Weis got on the end of a long throw-in by James Howe. Weis’ header was goal-bound, but junior Vuk Popovic made a diving clearance to keep the ball from crossing the line. Popovic was an All-Summit League defender last season, but has been playing as a possession forward for OU prior to this match.
Loyola finished the match with an 8-4 edge in shots on goal. Hildebrandt was forced to make seven saves, as he recorded his fourth shutout of the season. Peter McKeown had three saves in the loss.
The Golden Grizzlies have a week off before returning to play in a key conference match against UMKC next Saturday. The Golden Grizzlies host the Kangaroos at 1 p.m. at the OU Soccer Field. Fans that are unable to attend the match, can follow the live stats on OUGrizzlies.com.