ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Golden Grizzlies return home for the first time in over three weeks as they host the Milwaukee Panthers in a conference weekend showdown.
Oakland is back on the pitch for the first time in a week after falling in dramatic fashion to Cleveland State (Sept. 20) in their last outing. In the loss, the Golden Grizzlies went scoreless for just the second time this season, dropping to 0-2 in conference play.
Still in search for their first win of he season, Oakland has put together a string of solid games, coming just a few moments away from pulling out wins.
The Panthers are one of the few teams in the conference that have had Oakland's number historically. In head-to-head matchups, the Golden Grizzlies are 7-9-2. Last season, Milwaukee was the only Horizon League team to hand Oakland a regular-season loss, defeating them 4-1. Outside of that defeat, Oakland has gone unbeaten in five of their last six meetings with the Panthers.
Milwaukee enters the weekend with a 2-3-4 record overall (1-0-1 HL). They suffered a 3-2 loss to Marquette in their most recent outing, marking their first defeat since Aug. 28.
The Panthers currently rank as a top-three offense in the Horizon League, leading the conference in assists (21) while sitting second in both shots on goal (58) and goals (16). Forwards Bienvenu Djunga and Fernando Pirry lead the attack, as both players rank in the top five in goals scored and in the top ten in shots and shots on goal in the conference. They are joined by Oakland's Christopher Jean-Léger, who is also in the top ten in shots on goal.
Despite allowing the fourth-most goals (10) of any Horizon League squad, Milwaukee goalkeeper Nic Diana leads all keepers in saves (36) and ranks third in save percentage (.800), anchoring the Panthers' back line.
The match is set for Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Soccer Field and will be streamed on ESPN+.
