Oakland University men’s soccer rallied twice on the road Thursday, with Cal Kurzawa and Ethan Clarke-Rootham each scoring their first career goals in a 2-2 draw at Marquette to open the 2026 season.

The Golden Grizzlies fell behind early. Marquette's Mateo Stoka struck less than two minutes in at Valley Fields in Milwaukee. Oakland settled after the early jolt and found its equalizer in the 35th minute when Kurzawa scored off a feed from Grant Mateer.

Marquette regained the lead in the 71st minute through Tomiwa Adewumi, as the ball trickled past Oakland goalkeeper Zach Townsend. But the Grizzlies kept pressing. Oakland outshot Marquette 9-2 in the second half, with Andriy Bilous and Jayden Pinheiro testing the Golden Eagles' defense before Clarke-Rootham delivered the equalizer.

Clarke-Rootham scored in the 82nd minute to secure the draw and cap a strong second-half stretch for Oakland.

Kurzawa led the attack with three shots, two on target. Marquette goalkeeper Cameron Simpson denied Kurzawa a second goal with a save later in the half. Kinan Abdulrazzak added two shots as Oakland finished with a 12-5 advantage in total attempts.

The draw opens the season for a squad picked fifth in the Horizon League preseason poll after finishing 3-9-6 overall last season. Oakland went 3-3-3 in league play in 2025 before falling 2-0 to Green Bay in the conference tournament quarterfinals, according to the Anonymous Eagle.

Stephen Gilbert joined Clarke-Rootham in pressuring Marquette's back line after the equalizer.

The Grizzlies stay on the road Sunday, Aug. 23, traveling to Madison to face Wisconsin at 3 p.m. ET.