Oakland University women’s soccer (5-7-1, 2-2-0) faced Horizon League opponent University of Illinois at Chicago at home on Saturday, Oct. 1. The Golden Grizzlies dominated the hazy field, taking a 1-0 win.

The victory marks goalkeeper Alison Holland’s third shutout of the season.

The Golden Grizzlies earned 11 fouls: six in the first half and five in the second. The majority came as Oakland thwarted coordinated strikes led by UIC.

In the third minute, Oakland’s Alice Palmer ripped a shot that went wide left. UIC attempted to answer, but Oakland’s defense stifled their efforts.

After a foul on UIC in the 13th minute, Oakland regained possession of the ball and converged on the net.

Freshman Brooke Miura scored her first career goal in the 14th minute from 30 yards out as she let loose with an unassisted shot that beat UIC’s goalkeeper on the right side.

“It definitely feels good having my first collegiate goal,” Miura said in a GrizzVision interview with Mekye Phelps. “We were pressing them and there was lots of pressure in front of the net. Luckily I was in the right spot at the right time and I placed it . . . It was a great job by our team.”

Hoping to answer, UIC regrouped, but Oakland’s defense was steadfast as they denied four shots on goal and disrupted a corner kick from UIC.

After a foul and offside call against UIC, Oakland was presented an opportunity to regain their momentum.

The Golden Grizzlies fought their way downfield, and in the 22nd minute Vlad Gurovski put a shot toward the middle of the net that was saved.

Oakland then got called for a series of four fouls in three minutes.

Hoping to exploit this opportunity and solidify their control of the ball, UIC sent in three substitutions in the 33rd minute.

Oakland countered by substituting three players of their own. From there, the game was one of defense as the Golden Grizzlies worked to deny UIC a goal and run out the clock. Oakland successfully held UIC until halftime.

In the second half, alternating corner kicks and fouls, the teams traded possession of the ball. UIC eventually gained the upper hand after an additional three substitutions, but any efforts to score were ousted.

Oakland sustained their lead with a total of seven substitutions in the second half, primarily focusing on defense.

Ultimately, the Golden Grizzlies held UIC to four shots — one on goal —  in the second half.

“I think we pulled out well today,” Holland said. “It ended up getting scrappy at the end, but we fought through it and it ended up being a hard win. Moving forward, we need to keep this momentum.”

Head coach Mags Saurin noted UIC’s resilience.

“I’m happy with the shutout because this team [UIC] is a pretty dynamic team offensively,” Saurin said. “We had a lot of possessions and really took it to them. They played all the way through till the end. That’s the way it’s going to be in conference. Sometimes it’s going to be scrappy and sometimes it’s going to be pretty, but we just have to be focused.”

Oakland faces Milwaukee on the road at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 8. You can watch on ESPN3.