Rochester, Mich. (Aug. 29, 2007) - Oakland???s fall sports season launches this weekend with a full slate of home contests as men???s soccer battles Hofstra, women???s soccer plays Syracuse and the cross country team commences its season by hosting the Golden Grizzly Open. Additionally, the volleyball team, which opened the 2007 campaign last weekend, will travel to Milwaukee for the Marquette Kick-Off Tournament. Men???s soccer hosts a pair of NCAA Tournament teams its opening weekend with Hofstra visiting on Friday and Rutgers in town on Sunday. The remainder of OU???s non-conference schedule is just as difficult, as Oakland travels to Big Ten foes Michigan State and Wisconsin, while hosting Michigan and Akron. Two all-conference players???senior defender Adam Brent and sophomore forward Stefan St. Louis???return to the lineup from last year???s squad as does starting goalkeeper Steve Clark. Six all-conference players return to the women???s soccer lineup, including Offensive Player of the Year Kristi Tomczyk. Junior midfielder Kristi Evans joined Tomczyk on the all-conference first team last season, while senior defender Kristi Mitchell and junior midfielder Jessica Boyle were on the second team. Sophomores Marlie Lieberman (midfield/defense) and Lindsey Blair (defense) earned spots on the all-newcomer team. The Golden Grizzlies will face a difficult non-conference schedule this year with games against USC and Michigan, two teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. The Summit League schedule got tougher this year as well with the addition of North Dakota State, South Dakota State and IPFW. Both cross country teams look to improve upon their finishes at the conference meet last season as the men finished second and the women third, but both will face challenges from league newcomer North Dakota State as well as perennial powerhouses Southern Utah and Oral Roberts. The men return three all-conference runners: senior Jason Young (first team), junior Andrew Lawrick (second team) and sophomore Zack Jones (second team). Sophomore Sara Lieblein, the 2006 Newcomer of the Year, returns to guide the women???s team. Volleyball has already started play, compiling a 1-3 record to date. This weekend OU will take on Texas-Arlington, Marquette and Miami (Fla.) in the Kick-Off Tournament and later in the season will host NCAA Tournament team Michigan, marking the first time that a Big Ten team has visited the O???Rena for volleyball. Juniors Leah Dupuie and Lauren Duquette return to lead a young squad while Rob Beam embarks on his first season as a head coach with the Golden Grizzlies??? program.