ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland women's soccer team will conclude non-conference play Sunday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. as the Golden Grizzlies welcome Kent State to the Oakland Soccer Field. Sunday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 
 
Oakland looks to snap a five game skid and earn its first-ever win over the Golden Flashes (3-2-0). Sunday's match will mark just the third time in program history Oakland and KSU have met and the first time since the 2014 season.
 
Sunday's match-up marks the fourth meeting between Oakland and a Mid-American Conference opponent this season. The Golden Grizzlies opened the 2021 campaign with a 3-0 win over Western Michigan in exhibition play. The Black and Gold would also face off against Bowling Green and Toledo. 
 
The Golden Grizzlies will open Horizon League play for the third-straight season against Youngstown State on the road Thursday, Sept. 16 at 5:30 p.m.

A LOOK AT KENT STATE 
Kent State was selected to finish fifth in the MAC EAST preseason coaches poll this fall, and enter Sunday's game with a 3-2-0 record. 
The MAC released its weekly women's soccer awards, and Kent State defender Karly Hellstrom has been named Offensive Player of the Week.

Hellstrom, a Sudbury, Ontario native, was instrumental in the Golden Flashes' success in both of their games this past weekend. The redshirt senior out of Lasalle Secondary grabbed a goal in the 10th minute of Kent State's home match against Canisius Thursday, a game which the Flashes went on to win, 6-0. Then on the road at Northwestern Sunday, she had an assist to help propel Kent State to an early 2-0 lead over the favored Wildcats, before ultimately falling 3-2.

The fifth-year player Hellstrom has been a mainstay for the Flashes under head coach Rob Marinaro, starting every game since 2017 outside of 2018, which she missed due to injury. In 2019, Hellstrom logged over 1,400 minutes, helping Kent State at both ends of the pitch. As a defender, she still finished the season third on the team in goals (5), assists (3), and points (13).

GOAL GETTERS
Sami Lopez, Jackie Reilly, andMacey Wierenga have paced the Golden Grizzlies this non-conference season with a goal apiece. Reilly and Wierenga have also tallied an assist on the year. 
 
Wierenga has tallied a team-best 13 shots on the season, tied for seventh in the Horizon League.
 
PRESEASON POLL
Oakland was picked to finish third in the 2021 Horizon League women's soccer preseason poll, announced by the league office on Wednesday and voted on by the league's 12 head coaches.
 
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The Golden Grizzlies welcome back 10 seniors to the squad this season, bringing a wealth of knowledge and leadership to the roster, including graduate student, Ashley Postma, who returns for her fifth season.
 
A LOOK AT LAST YEAR
After a canceled 2020 fall season, Oakland competed in a 10-game, conference-only schedule beginning in February. The Golden Grizzlies posted a 5-3-2 record which included a four-game winning streak in the month of March. Oakland was just two of 12 Horizon League teams to play in all 10 games.
 
The Golden Grizzlies tallied 16 goals on the year, tied for second-most among the Horizon League. Oakland's 1.6 goals per game ties the Golden Grizzlies mark in 2013, and is the best since the 2010 season.

The Golden Grizzlies boasted an impressive eight goal scorers, tied for second-best among league foes.

Oakland racked up an impressive 26 assists, a league-best, with 12 Golden Grizzlies tallying one or more. Sami Lopez led with a season-best seven assists, second-most in the Horizon League.

Oakland allowed just .90 goals/game, the fewest in 12-plus seasons. Opponents were only able to find the back of the net nine times, the fourth-fewest in conference play.

ALL LEAGUE HONORS
The Oakland women's soccer team had three student-athletes garner All-Horizon League honors as voted on the by league's head coaches. Sami Lopez and Kendra Zak earned first team honors while Emily Penney was a Horizon League All-Freshman Team selection, marking the first time since the 2016 season Oakland has had a student-athlete represented on the first team, and the first time since 2015 two student-athletes have been recognized as first team honorees.

UNITED SOCCER COACHES HONORS
Zak earned 2020-21 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's All-Region second team honors, while Lopez and Postma earned third-team honors announced by the national office in May.

Zak earned 2020-21 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Third Team honors, becoming the first to accomplish this feat in program history. Zak was also named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Scholar All-Region team in addition to All-North Region Second Team honoree.