By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Livonia, MI - The Express men's soccer team battled No. 1 and undefeated Schoolcraft College to a 0-0 tie at halftime without their leading scorer and took a 1-0 lead in the 60th minute. However, they allowed two goals in the final 20 minutes and lost 2-1 on Sunday.

Matthew Spence (Sunrise/Lauderhill, Fla.) netted a goal on an assist from Ababacar Ndoye (Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor, Mich.) to put the Express up. Schoolcraft then scored in the 70th minute off a free kick and got the game winner in the 78th minute.

Owens (13-7 overall, 10-6 Region XII) played the match without its leading scorer, Novak Vuk Janicic (Elektro Technicka Skola/Belgrade, Serbia), but still nearly pulled off the upset. The loss ended a four-match winning streak for the Express.

Jake Olman (Maumee/Maumee, Ohio) started in goal for the Express and saved five shots on goal. Schoolcraft College finished the regular season 20-0.

Despite their loss on Sunday, the Express secured the No. 3 seed in the Region XII tournament with their 2-1 win over Jackson Community College on Saturday in Jackson, Mich.

Vuk Janicic and Nickyle Webber (Cornwall College/Trelawny, Jamaica) each scored for Owens.

Olman started in goal for the Express and saved six shots.

The victory over Jackson was the 13th win for the Express this season - the fourth most in men's soccer history at Owens. They had 16 wins in 2004 and 2005 and 15 in 2007.

The Express will host a Region XII quarterfinal matchup against Jackson Community College at 4 p.m. Wednesday. It will be the third time the two teams have met this year as Owens defeated Jackson twice during the regular season.

The Region XII semifinals and finals will be held at Owens Community College this Saturday and Sunday.