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PONTIAC, Mich. - The IUPUI men's soccer team couldn't handle prosperity on Saturday night as it squandered a 1-0 halftime lead on its way to a 2-1 defeat to Oakland inside the Ultimate Soccer Arenas. Junior Nate Ohmer tallied his first goal of the year to build the lead, but Oakland scored in the 64th and 74th minutes to remain undefeated in Summit League play.

"We gave points away tonight," IUPUI Head Coach Steve Franklin said. "We did not play soccer smart tonight and it cost us points. It's unfortunate, but now we have to finish up with three (Summit League) wins."

Defensively, IUPUI (1-9-3, 0-2-1 Summit) hunkered down and weathered an OU offensive storm in the first half before getting a quick counter in the 23rd minute to take the lead. Sophomore Perez Agaba got in behind Oakland's sweeper, but was unable to collect himself to get off a shot. Instead, he cut back inside and shifted the ball to his left to spot Ohmer, who was able to beat OU goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt.

"We absorbed them in the first half, similar to what we did at Ohio State," Franklin said. "We wanted to sit back and wait on a counter and finally we got it. Nate did a great job of composing himself and finishing it to give us the lead."

Despite being outshot 16-4 in the first half, IUPUI had its first halftime lead over an opponent this season at 1-0.

"We challenged the boys to come out and earn their stripes in the second half," Franklin said. "Our scouting report was spot on - Oakland did exactly what we thought they'd do. For whatever reason, we had some mental lapses and it led to them getting two goals. We outshot them 7-4 in the second half, so I don't necessarily think it was an adjustment they made."

Oakland (7-4-2, 4-0 Summit) tied the game in the 64th when Shane Lyons got behind the defense and was able to get a shot past sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Keever. Later, it was Leshorn Woods-Henry who got loose behind the IUPUI defense and put a shot past Keever for his first score of the year.

IUPUI caught a break in the 75th minute when OU's Stefan St. Louis was sent off the field with a red card after plowing into Keever, but the Jaguars were unable to capitalize on some golden opportunities down the stretch.

Johnny Dreshaj led all players with four shot attempts while freshman Kyle Hyland led the Jags with three tries. Keever finished with 11 saves, falling one shy of his career-high.

IUPUI will now return to action when it heads to Wright State on Wednesday for a non-league game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from WSU's Alumni Field.