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ROCHESTER, Mich. - The IUPUI men's soccer team's offensive woes continued as the Jaguars dropped a 2-0 count to familiar foe Oakland University on Wednesday (Sept. 18) night. IUPUI and Oakland were bitter rivals as fellow members of The Summit League, prior to OU's departure for the Horizon League this past summer. 

While Wednesday's match lacked the same chippiness and physicality that was prevalent in the series that dated back to 1998, OU was still an unpleasant host as Joey Tinnion had the game-winning goal and an assist for the victors. 

"Oakland is a very strong, veteran team. Give them credit, they played well tonight. They probably have the most dynamic front four we've played against this year," IUPUI Head Coach Isang Jacob said. "They were very strong on the attack and we knew that would be the case.

"I thought Eduardo (Cortes) played well to keep us in the game."

Tinnion staked Oakland (2-2-3) to an early 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season coming in the game's eighth minute. Shawn Claud Lawson played a through ball into the Jaguars box, connecting with the Oakland forward, who slotted a shot to the near post. Oakland outshot the Jaguars 22-5 for the match, but didn't scratch again until the 63rd minute. This time, Tinnion sent a ball forward to Miche'le Lipari, who tucked a shot inside the far post for his third score of the year. 

The duo of Tinnion and Lipari combined on nine shots, putting six on frame. 

IUPUI's (0-6-2) best look of the match came in the first half when freshman Evan Smith found a seam in the defense and drilled a shot, just to right of Oakland goalkeeper Sean Lewis. Lewis went to the ground to make a two-handed, diving save and ultimately finished the match with two stops in the shutout. 

Despite yielding two goals, Cortes was brilliant, making eight stops, including a couple highlight reel efforts to keep the Jaguars in the match. Immediately before Lipari's insurance goal, Cortes made an incredible stop on a Matt Dudley try, resulting in an Oakland corner kick. Oakland enjoyed a 13-1 advantage on corner kicks, including eight in the second half. 

Smith attempted three of the Jaguars' five shots, putting two on target. One of the most promising things to come out of Wednesday's match was the return of sophomore tri-captain Fumio Himeno, who earned a start in the midfield. 

"The good news is, we're starting to get healthy," Jacob said. "Fumio got minutes and looked good.

"We just have to keep playing. We got behind again tonight and we're chasing a goal. More than anything, we're chasing that first win and tonight, we forgot our defensive principles. It will come. We just need to stick together and keep playing."

The Jaguars' next opportunity will be Sunday, Sept. 22 when they take on the University of Dayton at 4:00 p.m. at UD's Baujan Field.