Cal Kurzawa scored twice and added an assist as Oakland University men's soccer beat the University of Illinois Chicago 3-2 on Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Oakland Soccer Field in Rochester.

The victory was the Golden Grizzlies' first of the 2026 season and their home opener, according to Oakland Athletics, a needed rebound after a 5-0 loss at Wisconsin earlier in the campaign.

Christopher Jean Leger opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing a chance set up by Kurzawa and Andriy Bilous. It was Leger's first goal of the season.

Goalkeeper Cole Thompson kept the lead intact through the rest of the first half. His stop on UIC's Darrell Turcios in the 38th minute was the highlight of an eight-save night. Oakland carried a 1-0 lead into the break.

UIC's Sota Nakazono equalized early in the second half, but Kurzawa answered in the 56th minute. Stephen Gilbert delivered the assist, threading a ball that Kurzawa converted to make it 2-1.

Kurzawa and Gilbert connected again in the 71st minute. Kurzawa's second goal pushed the lead to 3-1 and gave him four shots on target for the match.

UIC's Martin Montoya pulled one back two minutes later, assisted by Artem Grinblat, to set up a tense final stretch at 3-2. Thompson and defender Zach Townsend held firm on the back line to preserve the result.

Gilbert finished with two assists. Thompson's eight saves anchored a defense that looked far sharper than the Wisconsin trip, when Oakland managed just five total shots in the 5-0 defeat, according to Yahoo Sports.

Oakland, now with its first win in hand, travels to Phoenix to face Grand Canyon University on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 9 p.m. ET.