Season in Review: Women's Soccer

Since joining NCAA Division I in 1999, this is the second time that the Golden Grizzlies have strung three winning seasons in a row, the first since the 1999-2001 campaigns. 

2022 Results:

Aug. 18 // at DePaul, W 1-0

Aug. 21 // at Kent State, W 2-0

Aug. 25 // Akron, T 1-1

Aug. 28 // Northwestern, T 0-0

Sep. 1 // Toledo, W 4-1

Sep. 4 // #RV Wake Forest, L, 1-0

Sep. 8 // at Michigan State, T 0-0

Sep. 11 // at Western Michigan, T 1-1

Sep. 15 // Youngstown State*, T 1-1

Sep. 18 // at Green Bay*, T 0-0

Sep. 25 // Purdue Fort Wayne*, L 2-1

Oct. 1 // at IUPUI*, T 0-0

Oct. 6 // at Cleveland State*, W 1-0

Oct. 9 // Robert Morris*, W 3-0

Oct. 13 // Northern Kentucky*, W 1-0

Oct. 16 // at Wright State*, W 3-1

Oct. 22 // at Milwaukee*, L 1-0

Oct. 26 // Detroit Mercy*, W, 4-0

Oct. 30 // No. 6 IUPUI, L 2-0 (#HLWSOC Tourny)

8-4-7 Overall, 5-2-3 #HLWSOC

As a defense, Oakland had the 10th-best goals-against average in the country when the season was all said and done. The back line along with Noemi Stadelmann locked down a .579 GAA in 19 games, only allowing 11 goals in the process, the best mark in program history. 

The .579 GAA is the best defensive mark ever as the backline makes its mark in school history and the best defensive ranking in #HLWSOC. 

Oakland would move into tenth in the country with its stout GAA. 

Final NCAA Division I GAA Rankings:

1. Buffalo 
2. Davidson
3. Georgetown
4. Saint Louis
5. South Dakota State
6. Stanford
7. UCLA
8. Towson
9. James Madison
10. Oakland

Sophie Wilsey was named #HLWSOC Player of the Year with her three goals in the 18 games played, seven shots of which were on-target in her 1,481 minutes of play. Wilsey planted the game-winning goal in the squad’s 1-0 victory over Cleveland State on October 6. Wilsey also received the Defensive Player of the Year award, a feat that had never been accomplished since OU joined the Horizon League in 2013.

Wilsey's 2022 Stats:

18 Games Played, 18 Games Started

3 Goals, 6 Points

7 Shots on Goal

1 Game-Winning Goal

Karabo Dhlamini, Kendra Zak, and Noemi Stadelmann earned #HLWSOC All-League First Team Distinctions while the duo of Sami Lopez and Alexa Sabbagh received All-League Second Team honors.

Zak received her third All-Horizon League First Team selection this past fall campaign in addition to United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region and All-Academic Team honors in her career.

Dhlamini notched her First Team All-#HLWSOC following a Second Team accolade in 2021. Through two games, Dhlamini has made 25 starts with a total of 13 points on the pitch.

Stadelmann played in all 18 games in 2022 between the pipes with a school record goals against an average of 0.52. With her 45 saves in the fall, the Switzerland native adds another accolade to her trophy case. 

Lopez was named to the USC Midfielders Watchlist to start the year, the only #HLWSOC student-athlete named. The Second Team honoree was All-Region in 2021 and 2020. 

Sabbagh has two All-League Second Team honors to her name with a team-high five goals this season. The Dearborn, Michigan native has also received an All-Academic honor. In the 2020 (Spring 2021) year, Sabbagh was first in the conference in shots on goal with 18.

College Sports Communicators named six Golden Grizzlies Academic All-District in Wilsey, Sabbagh, Zak, Stadelmann, Barro, and Wierenga. These student-athletes achieved a 3.50 grade point average and were a sophomore or above to receive the distinguished honor.

This is the most Academic All-District honorees the program has seen at a single time. 

Noemi Stadelmann garnered the team’s only #HLWSOC All-Academic honor with a cumulative GPA of 4.0 as voted on by conference faculty athletic representatives.

This is the second All-Academic nod the Swiss native has received in her career while between the pipes for Oakland.

Karabo Dhlamini and the South African National Team qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand with a 2-1 win over Morocco in the WAFCON final over the summer. Dhlamini and company ran through Group C 3-0 which consisted of Burundi, Botswana, and the top-ranked team going into the event, Niger. Dhlamini was credited with an assist on the game-winning goal versus Morocco.

South Africa tore through the eight-team knockout stage bracket with a 1-0 victory over Tunisia in the opening round followed by another shutout of Zambia 1-0. In the final, as previously mentioned, South Africa took down top-ranked Morocco 2-1.

Sharon Sampson was selected to compete for The Black Princess of Ghana in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Costa Rica. Ghana’s National Team played in Group D along with Japan, the Netherlands, and the USA. 

Upon returning to the Golden Grizzlies shortly after her world-stage, international competition the sophomore appeared in 14 matches with two goals and one assist for five points on the season. 

Sampson signed a professional contract with Football Club P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki (FC PAOK Thessaloniki) in Greece. 

FC PAOK Thessaloniki participates in the Greek A Division with their grounds at Toumba Stadium with 15 other clubs at that level.

In the past 17 seasons, FC PAOK has seen 16 championships since 2006. The only time Greece hasn't seen the double-headed eagle crest hoist a league title was in 2014 in the previously mentioned span.