ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland women's soccer team looks to continue its hot streak as the Golden Grizzlies welcome IUPUI to the Oakland Soccer Field Saturday, Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. for their Red2Racism game on ESPN+.
The Golden Grizzlies enter Saturday's game coming off a three-game win streak where Oakland has outscored its opponents 10-0. In the past 292 minutes of play, Oakland has outscored its opponents 11-0.
The Golden Grizzlies (4-7-1, 3-0-1 HL) have dominated the all-time series with the Jaguars, boasting a 18-3 record since the first meeting in 1999. Oakland is riding an eight-game win streak against IUPUI and has recorded an 8-1 record at home.
In the last meeting (11/4/19),
Sami Lopez scored the game-winning goal as No. 6 seed Oakland upset No. 3 seed IUPUI, 2-0, in quarterfinal action of the Horizon League Tournament.
IUPUI sits at 2-8-1, 1-3-0 HL on the year, and is looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The Jaguars have yet to win a road game this season.
IMPRESSIVE OFFENSIVE SHOWING
Oakland's six goals against Green Bay is the most scored in a game since 2013 when the Golden Grizzlies defeated Youngstown State, 6-2.
Sabbagh became the first Golden Grizzly to score three goals in a game since
Sydnye Gagner in 2016, when she netted four in a 5-0 win against Chicago State.
GOAL GETTERS
The Golden Grizzlies boast eight goal scorers this season, led by
Alexa Sabbagh with five, with three of those goals coming in Oakland's 6-0 win over Green Bay.
Sami Lopezhas tallied four goals on the year and
Macey Wierengahas added two.
Vera Asare,
Karabo Dhlamini,
Jayna Fraser,
Ashley Postma,
Jackie Reillyhave each recorded a goal
.
HORIZON LEAGUE LEADERS
Sabbagh has tallied a team-best 25 shots on the season, tied for fifth in the Horizon League.
Lopez and Sabbagh have made their way into top-10 in the league in goals scored, sitting fifth and eighth respectively.
Sabbagh has racked-up 12 points on the year placing her T9th in the Horizon League.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior,
Alexa Sabbagh, earned Nike #HLWSOC Offensive Player of the Week honors after netting four goals and two assists over two games in the first week of League competition. (9/20)
Sabbagh led the Golden Grizzlies offensively in a pair of games scoring four goals and tallying 10 points to open up Horizon League play. Sabbagh recorded her first goal of the season in the 88th minute to force double overtime as Oakland opened Horizon League play with a 1-1 draw to Youngstown State on the road. Sabbagh picked up where she left off against Green Bay, netting three goals on the afternoon and two assists to guide the Golden Grizzlies to a 6-0 win over the Phoenix. Sabbagh became the first Golden Grizzly since 2016 to score three goals in a game.
SEASON HIGHS
The Golden Grizzlies recorded 23 shots against YSU (9/16), a season-high by more than double as Oakland tallied 11 shots (twice) earlier this season against Kent State and Stetson.
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.
