ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland women's soccer team will travel to Youngstown State to open up Horizon League play Thursday, Sept. 16 at 5:30 p.m. against the Penguins. Thursday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Oakland holds an 11-1-1 record against YSU and will open league play against the Penguins for the third-straight season.
In the last meeting, Oakland defeated YSU, 2-1 with goals coming from
Macey Wierenga and
Jackie Reilly.
Oakland welcomes Green Bay to the Oakland Soccer Field on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. Sunday's game will serve as the SAAC-led crayon drive initiative. Fans are encouraged to bring new crayons to Sunday's match which will then be donated to local children's hospitals. To learn more about the cause, click
here.
GOAL GETTERS
Sami Lopez,has paced the Golden Grizzlies during the non-conference season with two goals. While
Ashley Postma,
Jackie Reilly, and
Macey Wierenga have each recorded a goal
.Lopez, Reilly and Wierenga have also tallied an assist on the year.
HORIZON LEAGUE LEADERS
Wierenga has tallied a team-best 14 shots on the season, good for ninth in the Horizon League.
Lopez has racked-up five points on the year placing her among the top-10 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.
