Aug. 22, 2011

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Oakland returned to the top of The Summit League in 2010, winning the league's regular season title after posting an unbeaten record of 8-0-1 in Summit League matches. The Golden Grizzlies finished the year with a record of 12-5-3 and had a league-best eight players selected to the All-Summit League teams.

The Golden Grizzlies were the fifth-best scoring team in the nation, after beginning the season with a school-record 16-0 defeat of Rochester College. The Golden Grizzlies finished the season leading The Summit League in shots (333), points (150), goals (53) and assists (44).

Senior Dani Haelewyn led the way for Oakland with eight goals and seven assists. She earned All-Summit League first team honors after she led the league with 23 points. Haelewyn was second in the league in goals, trailing only Oakland sophomore Nicole DeLuca, who led the league with nine goals. Haelewyn also led the league in assists, tying for the honor with freshman teammate Julianne Boyle, who also tallied seven assists in her first season at OU.

DeLuca, junior Sarah Lynch and sophomore Kara Weber all joined Haelewyn as All-Summit League first team selections, while freshman Serena San Cartier was named to the All-Summit League second team squad. San Cartier, Jordan Penz and Payj O'Shea were all named to The Summit League All-Newcomer team as well. Head coach Nick O'Shea was also recognized for the outstanding season by being selected as The Summit League Coach of the Year, the third time he had claimed the prize during his career.

The Golden Grizzlies didn't just get it done with offense in 2010. On the back line, Payj O'Shea was one of the top goalkeepers in the league, with a .043 goals-against average and a .800 save percentage that ranked second in the league.

After beginning the year with the lopsided win over Rochester College, the Golden Grizzlies lost consecutive matches against Western Michigan (2-0), Pittsburgh (3-0), Michigan (1-0) and Dayton (1-0). However, the team turned things around and proceeded to lose only once more in the remaining matches of the year.

The turnaround came in a match against Detroit, where San Cartier netted her first collegiate goal and started the Golden Grizzlies on an eight-match unbeaten streak. During the run, OU defeated Massachusettes (3-2) and Butler (2-1) in non-league action and also toppled Summit League foes North Dakota State (2-1) and South Dakota State (2-1) in consecutive matches.

Oakland went from Sept. 12 - Oct. 14 without losing a match, before suffering a 2-0 home setback against Michigan State. Undeterred, the Golden Grizzlies went on to win the remaining six games of the regular season, including a hard-fought 2-1 win over Western Illinois that clinched the regular season title for OU.

During the regular season, the Golden Grizzlies faced three teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, posting a 1-2 record against these teams. However, none of the games against these opponents was decided by more than a single goal.

The season came to an end for OU against Western Illinois in the semifinals of The Summit League Tournament. Haelewyn gave Oakland the lead, but a free kick goal tied the match. After two overtime sessions, the game ended in a tie and a shootout was used to determine which team would advance to the finals. Ultimately, WIU got the best of the shootout situation 5-4 and advanced to the tournament final. Both Haelewyn and Lynch were Summit League All-Tournament team selections for their efforts.

Despite not making it to the league title match it was a successful season, which effectively reestablished Oakland as one of the top teams in The Summit League. The team featured five seniors in Haelewyn, Melissa Hartwig, Megan Hartwig, Nikki Neubauer and Cara Duffy.

The Golden Grizzlies also took care of business in the classroom where 16 players earned a place on the Commissioner's List of Excellence, 16 more earned Academic All-Summit League honors and seven were distinguished scholars.

The undefeated league record in 2010 puts this year's team in rarified air, becoming just the fourth OU team to finish undefeated in league play. The team has returned to the top of The Summit League and will use this season as a building block for future success.

-OAKLAND-