Aug. 26, 2009

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EAST LANSING, Mich. - Junior Dani Haelewyn fired three shots, with one coming on goal, while sophomore Shannon Coley made nine saves, but it was not enough for the Oakland University women's soccer team (0-1) as the Michigan State University Spartans (1-0) captured a 3-0 victory over OU in both teams' season opener on Wednesday at DeMartin Field.

"Michigan State has two great forwards and they can punish you at any time," said Oakland head women's soccer coach Nick O'Shea. "They're great on the counter. We have a young team and we had a game plan going in, but four minutes into the game we were punished when we didn't execute. With these young players, they just don't understand the physicality of college soccer yet."

MSU broke through in the fourth minute of the contest, as Laura Heyboer took a pass down the center of the field and fired it past Coley to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. MSU extended its lead to 2-0 in the 44th minute, as Lauren Sinacola booted a corner kick towards Coley that Coley inadvertently punched into her own goal to extend the MSU lead to 2-0 going into the half. The Golden Grizzlies had an opportunity in the 23rd minute as junior Meghan Hartwig fired a shot on goal, but MSU keeper Jill Flietstra made the save to preserve a 1-0 Spartan lead. OU did not take another shot for the remainder of the opening half.

Oakland had a pair of opportunities in the opening minutes of the second half, as Deanna Colarossi sent in a shot that sailed just high of the net just seconds into the half, and then freshman Kara Weber sent in a header off a corner kick that went high during the 49th minute.

In the 53rd minute, OU had another opportunity as freshman Leanne Fomenko took a shot that hit the crossbar, and in the 63rd minute, Haelewyn had a shot that just missed wide. OU managed to hold the deficit at 2-0 until the 64th minute, when Lauren Hill took a cross inside the box and sent it into the net to set the MSU lead at 3-0.

Despite the loss, O'Shea pointed out several bright spots for the Golden Grizzlies. "Alyssa Fulton did well in the back, and Kirsten Stencel also played well for us," said O'Shea. "It was good to see a couple players in the back line play well. Colarossi worked very hard up front, and Shannon Doyle played a good first half. Kara Weber also played well in the back line for us. A few young players stepped up for us today."

The Golden Grizzlies will resume the season on Sunday, Aug. 30, as OU plays host to St. Bonaventure on the OU Soccer Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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