ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland women's soccer team continues its tough non-conference schedule on the road against SEC foe Kentucky Sunday, Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex.
 
Sunday's game marks the third meeting in program history and the first match-up since 2011. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 1-0-1, earning a 3-0 win in the last meeting at the Oakland Soccer Field. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
 
A LOOK AT KENTUCKY 
The Wildcats enter Sunday's contest with a 2-1-2 record on the year, with their only loss coming at No. 15 South Florida on Aug. 29.  After a 1-1 draw in the season opener at Purdue, Kentucky posted back-to-back shutouts over Marshall and Louisiana at home. UK is coming off a 0-0 tie in a hard-fought battle with Dayton on Thursday.
 
Fresh off a career-high 11 saves versus the Flyers, Laura Nielsen has recorded a league-leading 31 saves on the year. Through the first five matches of her UK career, her 6.2 saves per game also tops the Southeastern Conference standings while her .912 save percentage ranks second. 

Leading the Wildcats' offense is Jordyn Rhodes, who has recorded four goals, 10 points, 20 shots, and 10 shots on goal so far this season. She notched all three goals against the Herd for the second hat trick of her career, becoming just the second UK player to ever record more than one. She is currently tied for second in the SEC in shots (20), ranked third in shots per game (4), and tied for fourth in points (10), points per game (2), and goals (4). 

GOAL GETTERS
Junior Macey Wierenga and sophomore Jackie Reilly have paced the Golden Grizzlies this young season with a goal a piece, both in which came during Oakland's 2-1 win over 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.