ROCHESTER, Mich. – On a muddy Thursday night, Oakland University Women's Soccer fell 2-1 at the hands of Kent State University on the Oakland Soccer Field in the regular season opener.

The two teams had to adjust their game plans for the slush and mud that had plagued certain portions of the pitch where Kent State (1-0-0) found the first goal of the evening at 21:19 and continued to dominate the shots column 8-3 at halftime.

After a few defensive adjustments by the Golden Grizzlies (0-1-0), the Golden Flashes once again drilled a solo shot to go up 2-0 over the home black and gold in the 52nd minute.

Oakland improved their opportunities from the first 45 minutes, 6-5 as the game became more evenly matched. After three-straight fouls, the Golden Grizzlies found their opportunity.

As Malaina Troy was fouled on the far corner of the Golden Flashes' box, Macey Wierenga stood up for the free kick and delivered a rocket shot into the back of the net just as the yellow jerseyed goalkeeper dove the opposite direction to make things 2-1 at the 62' mark.

Oakland turned up the intensity the rest of the way as sprinkles of rain reared themselves into the large lighting at the OU Soccer Field but as time expired, the Golden Grizzlies dropped their first season-opener since 2021.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 20 Golden Grizzlies entered the match; 10 of which were transfers or freshmen
• Goalkeeper Haley Lindow decimated point-blank shots by Kent State, even grabbing a penalty shot early on in the game
• Lindow finished 90 minutes with seven saves
• Wierenga and newcomer Putri Sazali put up two shots each; Frankie Mudd, Lisa Kazandjian, Shannon Brown, and Anuhea Aluli tallied one

The Golden Grizzlies will be back on their home pitch Sunday, August 20 at 3:00 pm versus another MAC opponent, Eastern Michigan University.