Oakland University’s women’s soccer team could not hold on to an early 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Butler Bulldogs at the OU Soccer Field.

Defender Claire Milam scored the golden goal for the Bulldogs in the 104 minute after a through ball by forward Elise Kotsakis found her wide open in front of the net.

The Golden Grizzlies started the scoring in the 31 minute when forward Serena San Cartier scored her first goal of 2011 on an open net after Bulldogs goalie Julie Burton misplayed a crossing pass.

The Grizzlies used ball control and a strong defense to control the first half of the match.

They outshot the Bulldogs 7-4 in the half and had numerous opportunities to add to their 1-0 lead, but came up just short.

“I thought we moved the ball really well, I thought we were getting behind their defense,” Nick O’Shea head coach said.  “We did a lot of good things in the first half.  Obviously created a ton of chances and pressured them in the midfield quite a bit, so it made it hard for them to play.”

The second half began the same way for the Golden Grizzlies as they put a lot of pressure on the Bulldogs offensively.

Freshman forward Kyla Kellermann scored her third goal of the season from the top of the 18-yard box after receiving a beautiful pass from midfielder Julianne Boyle, giving OU a 2-0 lead.

But the Bulldogs refused to quit and took advantage of costly turnovers by the Oakland to begin the comeback.

A cross from Bulldogs forward Katie Griswold to the front of the net was redirected past Golden Grizzlies goalie Anne Berschbach by one of her own defenders in the 63 minute to make the score 2- q1.

The Bulldogs missed an opportunity to score in the 74 minute when forward Elise Kotsakis’ direct kick from the top of the 18-yard box hit off the left post.

The Bulldogs would not lose any momentum though and tied the game 2-2 just two minutes later, in the 76 minute, on a header by midfielder Jackie Hafele off a corner kick.

It was one of four corner kicks by the Bulldogs in the second half.

“Our team got lazy,” O’Shea said.  “We kind of floundered after 2-0.  We just stopped playing with a purpose, so the ball movement was worse, we turned it over in bad stops and they kept countering.”

The Bulldogs outshot the Golden Grizzlies 12-9 in the second half, but neither team could add another goal before the end of regulation.

Before Milam’s game-winning goal in the second overtime period for the Bulldogs, the Golden Grizzlies had a great opportunity to win the match when a shot by midfielder Shannon Doyle hit the post.

“We played 50 good minutes,” O’Shea said.  “We put down as one of our keys to victory is to play 90 minutes … and obviously we only put together 50.  So, we got to work on that.”

The Bulldogs are now 5-4-0 on the season and the Golden Grizzlies are 2-6-0 with one more game before league play opens.

The Golden Grizzlies play Detroit away at Titan field Sept. 22.  Summit League play begins on Oct. 1, against IPFW at home.