Horizon League Network |

ROCHESTER, Mich.- The Oakland women's soccer team kicks off the 2014 campaign with a pair of exhibition matches at the OU Soccer Field beginning with St. Bonaventure from the Atlantic 10 Conference on Thursday, Aug. 14 at 3 p.m. The Golden Grizzlies will host Toledo out of the Mid-American Conference on Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. ET. Admission is free for both games and for those who can't attend; both contests will be broadcast live on the Horizon League Network. Live stats will be also available through ougrizzlies.com. Links will be active at game time.

Scouting the Golden Grizzlies

•College Sports Madness named five Oakland players to the collegiate website's 2014 Horizon League Preseason All-Conference Team.

•Junior midfielder Joan Sieja, who led the Golden Grizzles in assists last season (1 goal, 8 assists, 10 points), received first-team accolades.

•Senior forward Kyla Kellermann, who paced the team in scoring (8 goals, 4 assists, 20 points), sophomore forward Alice Palmer, junior midfielder Jamie Horne and junior defender Sarah Reynolds received second-team honors.

•Sophomore Alice Palmer (2 goals, 5 assists, 9 points) returns after being named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team last season.

•The 2014 campaign marks the debut of first-year head coach Margaret Saurin who is only the second head coach in Oakland women's soccer history. Saurin comes to OU after spending the last seven seasons as head coach of the IPFW women's soccer program, where she was named The Summit League Coach of the Year in 2012.

•Oakland finished the 2013 season 10-9-2 overall placing fourth in conference play with a 4-3 mark. In post season action, the Golden Grizzlies dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to No. 1 seed Milwaukee in the Horizon League Tournament Championship.

Scouting the Bonnies and Rockets

•St. Bonaventure went 8-10-1 overall with a 4-4 mark good for a fourth place finish in conference play before advancing to the semi finals in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Bonnies are led by senior forward Molly Curry who tied for the team lead last season with eight goals and was the second-leading scorer with 16 points. Curry was also named to the College Sports Madness 2014 All-Atlantic 10 Preseason Second Team.

•Toledo finished the 2013 campaign with a 6-12-1 overall record and 3-7-1 mark in conference play. The Rockets are led by sophomore Kiersten Johnson who finished second on the team last season with nine points (four goals, one assist).

Up Next

Oakland officially begins the 2014 season Friday, Aug. 22 on the road at Western Michigan (11-5-5 in 2013) for a 4 p.m. kickoff. The Golden Grizzlies will then travel to Notre Dame, Ind. for a showdown with traditional power Notre Dame (13-8-1 in 2013) on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 3:30 p.m. ET contest.

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