Rochester, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies stepped onto the OU Soccer Field for their season opener, hosting the Omaha Mavericks in a tightly-contested matchup.

In a high-octane battle, both teams came out the gate a bit guarded opening half, with Oakland holding a slight offensive advantage, tallying four shots in the first 45 minutes, two on goal, to Omaha's two shots, one on goal.

With the game knotted at zero and the half coming to a close, the Mavericks struck gold in the 41st minute as a loose, highly-struck ball bounced around the box, eventually grazing Omaha's Martin Lago as he misdirected the ball into Oakland's net, giving the Mavericks a 1-0 lead headed into halftime.

In the second half, Oakland intensified their efforts. The Grizzlies gained momentum by dominating possession of the ball for the majority of the frame, taking more chances and presenting themselves with more opportunities to even the affair. Just five short minutes into the second half, Oakland knotted the score as Jack Klomparens fired a cross into the box, where Andriy Bilous laid in wait, contorting his body in mid-air to deliver a spectacular bicycle kick goal as Oakland pulled the game back even at 1-1.

The Golden Grizzlies kept their foot on the pedal, taking the offensive attack to the next level and dominating possession. Andrew Darakdjian continued what was a fine offensive night for himself, firing off three of Oakland's next four shots as they looked to jump ahead.

Despite Oakland's offensive volume, Omaha took advantage of their few opportunities. The Mavericks created their own chance in the 81st minute as they went on the attack. Initially the Golden Grizzlies shut off a Omaha push as Alex Flowers dove out for one of his three saves on the night, but the Oakland defense wasn't able to locate the ball fast enough for a clearance as Omaha's Brett Perkins located the ball and snuck it past a recovering Flowers, putting the Mavericks ahead 2-1 with just under ten minutes remaining. 

The Golden Grizzlies continued to push the pace, now needed a goal to come out of the night without a loss. Klomparens fired a promising shot from outside the box in the 83rd minute, which sailed just over the crossbar, and Markus Wienerroither also had a chance on goal in the 88th minute, but in the 85th minute is when Oakland nearly kept their hopes alive as Darakdjian sped past the Omaha defense, earning a one-on-one opportunity with goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah. Darakdjian made his move and fired a lefty shot to the bottom right corner, and just before reaching the goal, Sallah stretched out to make the save, securing Omaha's 2-1 victory over the Golden Grizzlies.

Oakland ended the game with the upper hand in shots (14-to-8) and shots on goal (6-to-5).

Despite a hard-nosed effort, Oakland's tough luck in their opening day continues as they suffer their third straight season-opening loss.

The pGolden Grizzlies will have a short memory as they quickly pivot to a big game against the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Sunday, Aug. 25 at 2 p.m.