ROCHESTER, MICH. - A goal by Johnny Dreshaj 59 seconds into overtime upended the 14th-rated Drake men's soccer team on Sunday (Sept. 5) as Oakland registered a 1-0 triumph over the Bulldogs.

The two sides waged a back-and-forth affair through the initial 90 minutes of the match with neither side being able to crack the scoring column before a corner kick set up Dreshaj's heroics.

Both squads now stand at 1-1 on the campaign.

"We knew this would be a challenging weekend to travel this distance and play two strong opponents on their field," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented.  "This is always a hard task and what made today especially difficult was the windy conditions and the aerial bombardment we were subjected to.  That was a real test for such a young team."

The Golden Grizzlies owned a 21-6 advantage in shots in the affair, including 12-2 in the second half.  For the second consecutive contest fouls were decidedly against the Bulldogs as Drake was whistled for 15 fouls to just six by Oakland.

"It is something of a painful irony that the corner that they scored on was a scuffed mishit but that is how soccer is sometimes," Holmes explained.  "It was a physical struggle and I'm not sure our team is practically constructed for that right now."

Senior Kenan Malicevic (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Cedar Valley) led Drake with a team-high three shots, while Dreshaj notched a game-high five shots for the Golden Grizzlies.

Redshirt junior Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Kennedy) pulled in four saves for Drake and was matched in the category by Oakland's Mitch Hildebrandt.

"Once again Jordan (Kadlec) was super in goal," said Holmes.

The physicality of the match took its toll on the Bulldogs late in the match but in the process provided newcomers valuable playing experience Holmes explained.

"Getting both our center strikers in Hunter (Kennedy) and Kenan (Malicevic) knocked out of the game temporarily and then permanently didn't help our cause, but the best part was we were able to play more young guys and that will pay off down the road. I think Garrett (Crall) may emerge as one of the best central defenders we've ever had as he again was a stalwart in the back."

The Bulldogs travel to Notre Dame, Ind., next weekend to compete at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament hosted by Notre Dame.  Drake will battle the host Fighting Irish on Friday (Sept. 10) at 6:30 p.m. before tangling with No. 20 Indiana on Sunday (Sept. 12) at 10:30 a.m.

"I'm not excited by the result today but I'm not entirely displeased by our performance," Holmes commented.  "We'll put this weekend behind us and prepare ourselves for next week's test."