Men's Soccer heads to Michigan for important Saturday matchup

DAYTON – The Wright State men's soccer team heads north for a pivotal matchup against Oakland on Saturday afternoon as the Raiders look to keep pace at the top of the Horizon League standings. Saturday is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first kick and the match is expected to be streamed on ESPN+.

The Raiders (4-3-4 overall) enter Saturday second in the Horizon League with a 4-0-2 conference mark and 14 points, two points back of Cleveland State (9-1-2 overall, 5-0-1 HL) for the top spot in the standings and five points ahead of third-place Detroit Mercy. Oakland begins Saturday fourth in the standings with eight points.

MATCH INFORMATION
Saturday, October 15 - 1 p.m. – Watch - Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
A pair of first half goals lifted Wright State to a 2-1 home victory over Purdue Fort Wayne last Saturday night. The Raiders got on the board early in the 23rd minute thanks to Reece Allbaugh's third goal of the season off an assist from Nico Likulia before Wright State added to the advantage just before the half as Sandro Branquinho tallied his first goal of the season off a similar scramble in the 40th minute.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland is 2-7-3 overall but 2-1-2 in the Horizon League entering Saturday, with both wins at home this season as the Golden Grizzlies will kick off as the hosts for the first time in two weeks. Oakland is coming off a scoreless draw at Green Bay on Wednesday and fell 1-0 at HL leading Cleveland State last Saturday, a loss that snapped what had been a two-match winning streak. Oakland compiled a 12-7-2 overall record with an 8-1-1 Horizon League mark on the way to the HL Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Golden Grizzlies fell to Northern Illinois in the opening round.

HISTORY VS. OAKLAND
The Raiders and Golden Grizzlies will meet for the 22nd time in the series overall on Saturday, with the Raiders having won four of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2015 along with a pair of ties. That stretch includes a pair of wins at Oakland and a victory in the 2019 Horizon League semifinals as the Raiders went on to win the HL Championship and ultimately advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Michigan in PKs.

DOWN THE STRETCH
Following Saturday's match, Wright State will have just two Horizon League contests remaining over the final three weeks of the regular season, with both coming in back-to-back matches to close the regular season schedule. The Raiders will travel to current HL leader Cleveland State on Saturday, October 29 and then end the regular season by hosting Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, November 2. Cleveland State begins the weekend two points ahead of the Raiders in the standings but Detroit Mercy remains in striking distance in third place as teams jockey to get the first round bye in the HL tournament.

UP NEXT
Wright State will step out of Horizon League play for its next two matches, first traveling to take on Western Michigan next Saturday, October 22 before hosting Marshall in midweek action on Wednesday, October 26 at Alumni Field.

Men's Soccer heads to Michigan for important Saturday matchup

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Players Mentioned

Reece Allbaugh

Sandro Branquinho

Nico Likulia

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