Men's Soccer Upended at Oakland City

(Evansville, IN)-- The Cleary Cougar men's soccer team was on the road in Southern Indiana, and were unable to bring back all three points, as they fell to the host Oakland City University Mighty Oaks 2-0 Tuesday afternoon.

The first half was a cagey affair, as neither team was able to establish themselves offensively, and both teams combined for 3 total shots in the first 45 minutes. Lesman Morazan had the best chance of the game for Cleary late in the first half, but his shot attempt was too close to the keeper, and the game remained scoreless.
The game's big breakthrough would happen in the 62nd minute, when Oakland City found the back of the net.  After a Mighty Oak throw-in on the right side, they sent a long ball to the left, where OCU's Bobby Davis dribbled up the left, and sent a pass towards the top of the box to the feet of Pablo Herrero.  Herrero dribbled across the top of the box, and fired a low shot past Vaios Papadoudis to give the Mighty Oaks a 1-0 advantage.  It went from bad to worse just ten minutes later, when Cleary committed a foul just outside the 18-yard box.  Herrero would place a perfect shot over the Cleary defensive wall and into the top left corner, beating Papadoudis, and giving OCU a 2-0 lead.

Vaios Papadoudis would suffer the loss in goal, allowing both goals in the game.  Cleary was outshot 6-3 (3-1 on goal).  The two teams each had 3 corner kicks in the game, while Cleary committed 5 fouls to OCU's 11.

Cleary falls to 1-1 on the season, and will make their return to the friendly confines of Lake Trust Stadium this Saturday, August 24, when they host the Defiance College Yellow Jackets in their WHAC opener.  Kickoff is slated for 7:00 PM.