PONTIAC, Mich. – The Western Illinois men's soccer team played Oakland to a scoreless draw at the Ultimate Soccer Arena on Saturday Oct. 23.
The Fighting Leathernecks (3-6-6, 1-2-2 Summit) and Golden Grizzlies (4-8-2, 1-1-2) remained deadlocked in fourth-place in The Summit League standings with five points each. Western Illinois has one league-match remaining while Oakland has two.
In a back and forth battle, neither team was able to find the net despite combining for 52 shots in the match. The Leathernecks were able to find quality chances in regulation by taking a six to four edge in shots on target.
Charlie Bales, Alexis Dominguez and Kooten Johnson were able to put shots on goal in the first half, but Oakland goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt kept Western off the board.
In the second half, Western Illinois would place three more shots on goal including shots from Bales, Mariano Leo and Adam Rappin, but Hildebrandt again came up big for Oakland.
Andy Ryan (3-6-6) was equally as good in the net for the Leathernecks as he made three saves in the first half and five more in overtime to record his third shutout of the season.
Leo led Western Illinois with six shots on the match while Nathan Bruinsma tallied five. Bales led the team with two shots on goal as the Leathernecks ended the match with a season-high 23 shots. Western was awarded seven corner kicks to Oakland's 11 and Ryan matched a season-high with eight saves.
Western Illinois returns to action when it plays host to Green Bay in a non-league showdown at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Nov. 2 at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.
