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Courtesy Photo | Horizon League
Robert Morris University's men's soccer team ended a 19-year drought Saturday with the school's first conference tournament title in 19 years following a 1-0 victory over top-seeded and host Oakland University in the Horizon League Championship Tournament finals.
BY DAN STICKRADT
WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK | NATIONAL SOCCER NETWORK | PREMIER MEDIA GROUP
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ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – Victor Thompson took the right time to score not just his first goal of the season, but of his collegiate career.
The Robert Morris junior outside back booted home what proved to be a game-winner in just the ninth minute, and second-seeded Robert Morris stymied Oakland 1-0 Saturday to win the Horizon League Championship Tournament title on top-seeded Oakland’s home field.
“I just can’t believe it,” said Thompson. “I couldn’t have picked a better time to score my first goal of the season – coming in the tournament finals.”
The Horizon League is a one-bid league for the NCAA Division I field this season and Thompson and Co. came into hostile territory to steal the title away from the Golden Grizzlies and a pro-Oakland crowd.
Thompson, the George Town, Grand Cayman-native and University of Tulsa transfer was pushed up in the attack as the Colonials came out and controlled play during the early stages of the tournament finals. The hard work paid off just 8:21 into the match.
Taking a short pass from Chase Gilley, Thompson found open space some 30 yards out along the right side and chipped a shot that dipped just under the crossbar and into the upper-90 of the net and just past the outstretched arms of Oakland goalie Alex Flowers.
That was Thompson’s only shot on goal during the game and it was more than glorious for the Colonials (9-6-3), who captured their first Horizon League Championship Tournament title and first conference tournament title since winning the Northeast Conference championship back in 2005 – some 19 years ago.
Robert Morris head coach Jonathan Potter was relieved that his team ended the long 19-year tournament championship drought, but felt there was some tense moments.
“Oakland gave us all we can handle, a ton of pressure (on us),” noted Potter, the Colonials’ second-year head coach. “Oakland plays (with) a ton of set pieces, so I just got to credit the guys for (how they) kept fighting until the end. It was a great defensive performance.
“It’s incredible – the first since 2005,” continued Potter. “We’ve had so many alumni kind of get back in touch with the program and sent us a lot of well-wishes this past week and we feel this is a stage that we belong. (We’re) so excited to keep our season going.”
It marked the second straight season that Oakland lost in the conference tournament finals at home, and it also marked the fourth time in five seasons that the Golden Grizzles had reached the tournament finals. Oakland came up empty handed in three of those four matches.
The Golden Grizzlies have won 13 conference titles since moving to Division I back in 2000, but not on this day.
Oakland got the ball down near the Colonials’ box in a hurry to start the second half but were dealt a measure of misfortune when Andrew Darakdjian picked up a red card just outside the box after throwing an elbow in retaliation just 28 seconds into the second half.
The Golden Grizzlies still out-possessed Robert Morris in the second half despite being down a man and created several scoring chances but could not find the back of the net for just the third time this season. The scoring drought occurred at the worst time, as Oakland saw its six-game win streak snapped and ended the Golden Grizzlies’ season at 9-7-2.
Robert Morris withstood consistent pressure from Oakland for the final 80 minutes of play after controlling play for the game’s opening 10 minutes. Oakland sent several crosses into the box, had a multitude of shots either blocked or sail wide of the goal, and were simply snakebit against Robert Morris, a team the Golden Grizzlies defeated 3-2 back on Oct. 26.
Robert Morris twice escaped danger when two plays were waved off during the final 20 minutes. The second came in the 85th minute when Oakland senior Luke Benford spun around with the ball about two yards inside the box and was tripped up, but no infraction was called.
“That’s the nature of sports and sometimes it doesn’t go your way,” sighed Oakland head coach Paul Doroh, who wrapped up his first season as the Golden Grizzlies’ head coach. “But we had our fair share of chances in this game, even when we were down a man. We played hard the whole game, and I felt after they scored the goal, we really controlled play for (long stretches). We just couldn’t put one in the back of the net. That’s a credit to their defense.”
Oakland had 10 total cornerkicks in the match – six in the first half and four in the second – but could not solve goalkeeper Josh Lane and the Colonials’ stingy defense. It marked Robert Morris’ sixth clean sheet of the season and second straight in the Horizon League Tournament.
For the game, Oakland outshot Robert Morris 15-11 overall, but the Colonials held a 9-5 edge with shots on goal. Oakland held the 10-2 edge off cornerkicks.
Lane notched the shutout on five saves, while Flowers finished his final college game by making eight stops in nine attempts.
Robert Morris will learn its NCAA Tournament opponent during the NCAA Division I Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 18, at 1:00 p.m. on NCAA.com. The first round of the 48-team tournament is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 21.
OLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER: Survive and
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or call 248-884-1051 or 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com and jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
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