As fall break approaches, students will enjoy a nice interruption in the rigorous class work during the fall semester. Still, athletes won’t have any time to rest as fall sports continue to move along at Oakland this semester. Here is a full breakdown of this week’s athletic events (Oct. 8-14).
Women’s soccer
After starting conference play with a 1-1-3 record, it was a good week for Oakland, which added two contributions to the win column. Visiting Youngstown State on Sunday, Oct. 8, and IUPUI on Thursday, Oct. 12, the Golden Grizzlies took care of both Horizon League opponents by an identical score of 2-1.
In Sunday’s win over the Penguins, Macey Wierenga scored two first-half goals to give Oakland a two-goal advantage when the teams broke for halftime.
It looked like YSU might put together a comeback after Taylor Berry scored the team’s first goal less than two minutes into the second half, but the Oakland defense kept the Penguins at bay to secure the 2-1 victory.
Then, in Thursday’s match, the script was flipped.
IUPUI got ahead of Oakland with a goal in the first half, but second-half goals from Anuhea Aluli and Frankie Mudd propelled the Golden Grizzlies to the 2-1 win.
OU will host Milwaukee on Saturday, Oct. 21, for Senior Day before the team ends its regular season on the road against rival Detroit Mercy. The Horizon League Tournament is scheduled for Oct. 29-Nov. 4. The highest-seeded team — which won’t be Oakland — will host the tournament.
Men’s soccer
It was a wild week of soccer for the men’s team at OU.
In two matches, Oakland scored five total goals and allowed five, but in the most unlikely of ways.
Visiting Western Michigan on Wednesday, Oct. 11, Oakland was thoroughly outmatched in every way. The Golden Grizzlies lost 5-0, but a deeper look at the stats shows an even more lopsided blowout.
The Broncos finished the match with 25 shots (12 of which were on net) compared to Oakland’s one shot (which wasn’t on net).
Despite accumulating 14 shots in the first half, WMU was miraculously held to no goals, but the dam broke in the second half. Western Michigan scored four goals in the first 22:57 of the second half, including two goals in the first 3:22.
Funnily enough, Oakland rebounded from the 5-0 loss with a 5-0 win of its own over Wright State on Saturday.
The stat sheet wasn’t as tilted in Oakland’s favor in this match, but it was still an impressive win for the Golden Grizzlies nonetheless.
Owen Smith scored two goals, while Donovan Phillip, Malik Sylvester and Mikey Ketteman each scored one as well.
Oakland currently sits alone in second place in the conference with 12 points, while IUPUI occupies first place with 13.
The Golden Grizzlies won’t get another shot at the Jaguars this season — they lost 2-1 in September — but if OU can win its three remaining league games, things will be looking good for Oakland.
Volleyball
Last week’s review noted a big week for the OU volleyball team. The Golden Grizzlies had a chance to make a statement near the top of the league standings.
However, competitive foe Milwaukee stormed into the OU Credit Union O’rena and quickly dismissed Oakland in an important match.
In arguably the most lopsided match of the season for the Golden Grizzlies, the Panthers were the more talented team from the moment they stepped into the arena.
Milwaukee convincingly won the first set, 25-18, but it only got worse from then on out for Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies were held to 12 and nine points in the second and third sets, respectively.
Overall, Milwaukee won 75 points during the three-set match, compared to Oakland’s 39 points.
However, Oakland impressively shook off the beating it took on Friday and came back with a solid five-set victory over Green Bay on Saturday.
There are still many more regular-season games to be played, but Oakland’s odds of winning the league take a major hit after a brutal loss at home to the Panthers.
This week, the team will hit the road to face Robert Morris (Friday) and Youngstown State (Saturday).
