Oakland Concludes
Another Successful Campaign with Return to NCAAs
Oakland’s women’s soccer team concluded another successful season in
2006, reclaiming its spot at the top of the Mid-Continent Conference.
The Golden Grizzlies capped off the year with their fifth Mid-Con
Championship and fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last six
years. Eight players earned All-Conference honors while junior
Kristi Tomczyk (Clinton
Township, Mich.) was named the Offensive Player of the Year and senior
Cat Panabaker (Hamilton,
Ontario) was named Defensive Player of the Year.
The Golden Grizzlies opened the season by hosting
#17 Arizona. The Wildcats pounced on Oakland early, scoring a goal in
the first minute, but the Golden Grizzlies were able to tie it 1-1 as
sophomore Jessica Boyle (Lake
Orion, Mich.) scored her first goal of the season in the 21st
minute with assistance from Tomczyk. Arizona scored again later in the
half to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission. Both teams generated two
shots in the second half but neither was able to convert and the
Wildcats held on for the 2-1 win.
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Sophomore Jessica
Boyle earned Mid-Con Tournament MVP honors after scoring two goals
in two games to help OU win the title. She was also a member
of the All-Conference second team. |
The next time out OU bested visiting Toledo 2-1 for
its first win of the season. Junior
Kristi Mitchell (Troy, Mich.) assisted on a pair
of first half goals scored just 75 seconds apart as sophomores
Chelsea Atiyeh (Novi, Mich.) and
Kristi Evans (Mason, Mich.) each registered their first goals of the
season. The Rockets cut the OU lead in half with a goal in the 58th
minute but they were unable to maintain pressure on the attack and
Oakland took a 2-1 victory.
Oakland commenced a five-game road trip by
traveling to Las Vegas for the UNLV adidas Classic. They met New Mexico
on the first day of the tournament, dropping a 2-1 decision to the
Lobos. Despite being outshot 10-0 in the first half, the Golden
Grizzlies were down just 1-0 at the break. Evans tied the game 1-1 with
her second of the year in the 48th minute, but New Mexico
would score again in the 56th minute for the win. OU
concluded the tournament against UNLV, falling to the host Rebels by a
7-0 margin.
The Golden Grizzlies next headed to Illinois for a
game against Illinois State. Oakland struggled, being outshot by the
Redbirds 25-7 and ended up falling 3-0. OU’s offensive drought
continued at Cincinnati as the Golden Grizzlies fell to the Bearcats
1-0. Freshman goalkeeper Marky Jenkins
(Royal Oak, Mich.) made eight saves against UC in
her collegiate debut.
OU concluded its road trip at Western Michigan,
pulling out a 3-2 overtime win to snap is four-game winless streak and
end the long trip on the right note. Tomczyk put the Golden Grizzlies
up 1-0 in the seventh minute with her first goal of the year. WMU tied
things up with an early second half goal, but Tomczyk recaptured the
lead for OU with her second of the game in the 66th minute.
The Broncos knotted the score once again with a goal in the 75th
minute. The game remained deadlocked at 2-2 through 90 minutes and the
Golden Grizzlies found themselves in overtime for the first time this
season. Evans scored the game winner in the 97th minute on a
penalty kick.
Oakland hosted Loyola Marymount in its first home
game in three weeks. The Lions recorded the first goal of the game to
go up 1-0 in the 35th minute. In the 54th minute
LMU struck again to extend its lead to 2-0. But Tomczyk scored her
third goal in two games with help from freshman
Susie Lee (Eagan, Minn.) to cut the
lead in half 2-1 in the 59th minute. The Lions regained the
two-goal advantage with a goal off a rebound. Oakland kept attacking
and senior Marianne Samdal
(Tiller, Norway) converted a Jessica Boyle corner kick in the
87th minute to draw within one 3-2, but LMU was able to hold
on for the last three minutes and escaped with a 3-2 win. Tomczyk was
named the Mid-Con offensive player of the week for her efforts against
Western Michigan and Loyola Marymount.
The Golden Grizzlies took to the road again, this
time making the short trip to Ann Arbor to battle Michigan. The
Wolverines scored first, sailing the ball over the keeper’s head to go
up 1-0, a lead that they held through the first half. Evans converted a
free kick from 25 yards out to tie the game 1-1 in the 48th
minute. Samdal gave Oakland its first lead of the game 2-1 when she
scored a header goal off a corner kick by Mitchell in the 66th
minute. Despite being outshot by Michigan 17-6, OU held a slight 6-5
edge in scoring chances and it proved to be enough as Oakland took home
a 2-1 victory.
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Senior Marianne
Samdal was named All-Conference for the third straight season,
earning a spot on the second team. |
Next on the slate for Oakland was a home match
against Dayton. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 17th
minute, an advantage they held at halftime. Dayton scored just 11
seconds into the second half to extend its lead to 2-0, then followed
with two additional to go up 4-0. Lee scored her first collegiate goal
with help from senior Susann Kamrud
(Trysil, Norway) to break up the shutout, but the
Golden Grizzlies couldn’t generate more goals and lost the game 4-1.
Oakland headed to Cincinnati to face Xavier in a
final non-conference tune up before beginning Mid-Con play. Despite
outshooting the Musketeers 16-11 and generating twice as many scoring
chances (6-3), OU fell to Xavier 3-0.
The Golden Grizzlies opened conference play by
hosting Valparaiso in the last-ever league game between the two teams.
The Crusaders scored late in the first half to take a 1-0 lead into the
break. Tomczyk tied the game 1-1, scoring a goal when the keeper came
out to try to intercept the pass by Samdal and Tomczyk beat her to the
ball and sent it into the open net. The game remained tied 1-1 late and
it looked as if overtime would be necessary, but the game slipped away
from OU as a goal in the 89th minute gave Valparaiso a 2-1
win.
OU’s next match was against Centenary. The Golden
Grizzlies dominated possession time and outshot the Ladies by a six to
one margin (25-4). Samdal scored the first goal of the game in the
fourth minute with help from Panabaker. Tomczyk added two second-half
goals and sophomore goalkeeper Kim Herbst
(Novi, Mich.) collected her first collegiate
shutout as the Golden Grizzlies posted a 3-0 win.
Oakland headed to Oklahoma to battle Oral Roberts,
posting its second shutout victory in as many games when it defeated the
Golden Eagles 2-0. Evans converted her second penalty kick of the
season in as many tries in the 13th minute while Tomczyk
added a goal early in the second half. Herbst made four saves for her
second consecutive shutout; she was subsequently named the Mid-Con
defensive player of the week.
The Golden Grizzlies next traveled to Southern Utah
to play the Thunderbirds. Mitchell had a career day, scoring two goals
and adding an assist, while Evans added a pair of goals and Samdal
chipped in a goal and an assist as Oakland beat SUU 5-1.
Oakland sought to extend its win streak to four,
hosting Western Illinois in the final home game of the regular season.
Samdal scored two goals in the first 11 minutes to give OU a 2-0 lead.
Western Illinois drew within one 2-1 with a goal in the 20th
minute and that’s how it remained for the rest of the first half.
Oakland’s offensive exploded for four goals in the second half as
Tomczyk scored three straight goals and Kamrud registered her first goal
of the year, and the Golden Grizzlies posted a decisive 6-1 win. Samdal
earned Mid-Con offensive player of the week accolades for her efforts
against Southern Utah and Western Illinois.
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Sophomore Kristi
Evans was named to the All-Conference first team in 2006. She
finished third on the team in scoring with 16 points on seven goals
and two assists. |
The Golden Grizzlies closed out the regular season
at IUPUI. Tomczyk scored a goal in the first half and added one in the
second half as Oakland built a 2-0 lead over the Jaguars. But IUPUI
scored three unanswered goals late in the half and ended OU’s win streak
with a 2-1 victory.
Oakland hosted the Mid-Con Tournament, comprised of
No. 1 seed Valparaiso, No. 2 Oakland, No. 3 Southern Utah and No. 4
Western Illinois. The Golden Grizzlies faced Southern Utah in the
second semifinal game and eliminated the Thunderbirds with a 2-1 win.
SUU scored the first goal of the game, but Boyle tied things up 1-1 with
a goal late in the first half. Junior
Kali Karibo (Rochester Hills,
Mich.) scored her first of
the season in the 57th minute, converting a free kick by
Evans for the game-winning goal.
The Golden Grizzlies faced Western Illinois in the
championship game two days later. The game remained scoreless until
Boyle and Samdal connected for a goal in the 74th minute.
But the Westerwinds answered approximately four minutes later, tying the
game at 1-1. Two overtimes later the game was still deadlocked at 1-1
and the championship needed to be decided in a shootout. OU changed
goalkeepers, putting in Jenkins for the shootout. The move paid off as
she stopped one WIU shooter while another fired wide and the Golden
Grizzlies won the shootout 4-3 to capture their first Mid-Con Tournament
championship in three years. Boyle was named the tournament MVP while
Mitchell, Panabaker and Samdal joined Boyle on the All-Tournament team.
Oakland returned to the NCAA Tournament for the
first time since 2003, drawing a first-round match up with #1 Notre
Dame, the top seed in the bracket. Rain poured and Fighting Irish built
a 2-0 lead in the first half on a muddy field. Lightning delayed the
game at the end of the first half and when play resumed 90 minutes
later, the Golden Grizzlies scored early, cutting the Notre Dame
advantage to 2-1 when Evans sent a free kick just underneath the
crossbar. The Fighting Irish kept attacking, however, scoring an
additional five goals to take a 7-1 victory and eliminating Oakland from
the tournament.
Evans joined Tomczyk and Panabaker on the
All-Conference first team while Boyle, Mitchell and Samdal were members
of the second team. Freshmen Lindsey Blair
(Northville, Mich.) and Marlie Lieberman
(West Bloomfield, Mich.) earned
spots on the All-Newcomer team.
Oakland
University 2007. All rights reserved.
