ROCHESTER, Mich. – With a season-opening win under its belt, Oakland University Women's Soccer hits the road once more in Kent, Ohio for a match with Kent State at Dix Stadium at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 21.

Oakland out shot DePaul on Thursday night 21-4 at Wish Field as Jayna Fraser scored the team's first goal of the season after winning a one-on-one battle with the Blue Demons' goalkeeper. 

The Golden Grizzlies played a total of 19 student-athletes through the 90 minutes of action with Fraser, Sami Lopez, Karabo Dhlamini, Alexa Sabbagh, Izzy Karkaba, Anuhea Aluli, and Carmela Barro each getting a shot off in the shooting frenzy.

In the 2022 #HLWSOC Preseason Poll, Oakland was predicted to finish first ahead of Milwaukee and Northern Kentucky in second and third, respectively.

SCOUTING REPORT

Kent State tied its season opening match with fellow Horizon League opponent Cleveland State 1-1 at home off their fourth-place prediction in the 2022 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll. All-time, the Golden Flashes are 2-0 over Oakland following a matchup in 2021. 

In the young season, the Golden Flashes' only goal scorer is Callie Cunningham off two shots as Tianna Harris recorded the assist. Between the pipes, goalkeeper Sarah Melen registered five saves in ten shots faced.

 

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FAVERO CONTRACT EXTENDED
Head Coach Juan Pablo Favero's contract has been extended through the 2026 season, Oakland University announced in August.

PRESEASON NO. 1
Oakland was selected as the preseason favorite in the 2022 #HLWSOC Preseason Poll with 115 votes and five first-place votes. 

NEWCOMERS TO WATCH
Seven newcomers enter the 2022 Golden Grizzlies roster on both sides of the field including transfer Allie Tefend and freshman Anuhea Aluli from Hawaii. 

LOPEZ PLAYER TO WATCH
Midfielder Sami Lopez is one of 38 women named to an exclusive list that is the NCAA Division I Players to Watch release which included four returning All-Americans from a year ago. Lopez is the only Horizon League student-athlete mentioned. 

FOUR ON 2021 #HLWSOC ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
Lopez and Zak find themselves on the All-League First Team roster with Dhlamini on the Second Team List in 2021. Rounding out the honors was Sharon Sampson on the All-Freshman Team squad. 

NATIONAL TEAM - GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Dhlamini and Sharon Sampson are two Golden Grizzlies playing on the national stage as Dhlamini's South African National Team won the 2022 WAFCON final to qualify for the Women's World Cup in 2023. Sampson made a roster spot on the U-20 "Black Princess of Ghana" National team, playing in the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Costa Rica.