In the closing minutes of a contest against Oakland on Wednesday night, in a game dominated by lackluster offense and sloppy play, the offense of the Michigan men’s soccer team finally found its legs.

Senior forward Justin Meram ended the evening in dramatic fashion, burying a shot past a sprawling goalkeeper with only a minute remaining on the clock, giving the Wolverines a 2-1 victory.

Deadlocked at zero after 70 minutes, Michigan (3-1-1) looked to its main weapons on the attack — Meram and freshman forward Soony Saad.

Saad continued his hot streak on offense by netting a header at 74:35 to grab a 1-0 lead, giving the freshman his team-high fourth goal of the season.

The first-year phenom was quick to credit teamwork on the play, as well as the assist from senior midfielder Alex Wood.

“No one (on defense) knew where I was,” Saad said. “I was kind of trying to hide behind the last defender. Woody played a driven ball back and I wanted to head it down. We did a lot of drills in practice about heading it down, and when I headed it down it kind of kept the keeper surprised and went over the keeper.”

But the Golden Grizzlies booted the equalizer just four minutes later, as a defensive breakdown left Jeff Timm open in front of the net to meet a crossing pass — and he didn’t miss his opportunity.

Thirsty for his elusive first goal of the season, Meram turned his performance up a notch as the time wound down to the last few minutes. With just 60 ticks left, Meram received a cross from senior midfielder and team captain Alex Wood, and he put a bullet through for the game-winner.

The Wolverines have come to expect these second-half heroics from their leaders, with six of seven goals this season coming in the final 45 minutes, but they certainly aren’t taking that offensive boost for granted.

For a defense that fended off attackers all evening long, having scorers like Meram and Saad take the ball late in a match prompted a giant sigh of relief.

“Every time the ball touches their feet, I just have this instinct, this sense they’re going to score,” sophomore defender Kofi Opare said. “Soony is a clinical goal scorer, that’s why he’s here — to score us goals. Look at his record, its not going to lie. It says something about his character and his abilities.

“For Justin … (it's) his ability, his skill, his vision to spot teammates in tight situations (that) makes him a great player.”

Michigan appeared noticeably fatigued after recently returning from a weekend trip to Seattle, but still found the energy to score twice in the final 20 minutes. Despite several careless passes and missed opportunities on offense earlier in the game, the Wolverines outshot Oakland 24-7.

Michigan coach Steve Burns said it’s the team’s perseverance that will be vital as the season progresses.

“The college soccer season is like the college football season,” Burns said. “It’s a season of momentum. Anytime you get a win, regardless of how you win, everyone feeds off that and looks forward to the next game even more so."