Aug. 26, 2012

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ROCHESTER, Mich. - A second half goal by Marlen Knoph wasn't enough as Oakland (1-1-1) fell 2-1 to Loyola (Md.) (1-1-1) on Sunday at the OU Soccer Field. The Golden Grizzlies outshot the Greyhounds 15-9.

"I thought we created a lot of chances," said head coach Nick O'Shea. "I know that we outshot them, but unfortunately, we hit shots right at their goalkeeper from point-blank range. Those things happen, but we played well enough to win and we'll have to work harder as a team next time."

In the 80th minute Erin Ring won the ball off of a Loyola defender and quickly played it to Abigail Haelewyn who touched it on to Knoph for the goal. It was the second goal of the season for Knoph and inspired a late comeback effort from OU that fell just short.

The Golden Grizzlies had a total of eight shots on goal, but were denied, often acrobatically, by goalkeeper Didi Haracic. The Greyhounds' goalkeeper finished with seven saves, while OU's Payj O'Shea finished with a pair of stops.

The Greyhounds scored in the 19th minute when Rosy Hayes served in a free kick for Kelsey Rene who headed the ball into the back of the net. Loyola doubled the lead in the 34th minute when Julia Hajjar floated a ball between two OU defenders to Jessica Van Dyke who scored the one-on-one goal.

Sunday's match was the first of a four-game home stand for OU. The Golden Grizzlies are back in action on Sunday against Detroit at the OU Soccer Field at 8 p.m. That match is a doubleheader with the Oakland men's team.

-OAKLAND WOMEN'S SOCCER-