In a thrilling Horizon League season debut on Thursday, Sept. 19, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies women’s soccer team fell short against the Robert Morris Colonials at the Oakland Soccer Field.
The Golden Grizzlies opened the match, playing very patiently and conservatively. With most of the team hanging back, the Colonials opened the game the exact opposite of the Golden Grizzlies.
Robert Morris had multiple attacking chances in the first five minutes of the game, backed by their aggression to go after 50-50 balls and whichever player possessed the ball for the Golden Grizzlies. In multiple instances, the Colonials quickly recovered an Oakland pass that was kicked too hard, with no Golden Grizzly chasing after the ball.
In the 10th minute of the match, the aggression from Robert Morris finally paid off. Haleigh Finale received the ball in the middle of the box after a pass from Julia Becerra. In prime position to score, Finale sent the ball into the left side of Oakland’s goal with a strike.
In what looked like a golden opportunity to equalize, Oakland’s Marina Downing connected with a brilliant pass on a free kick for a powerful header just a few feet from the net, but the ball sailed inches wide of the post in a heart-stopping moment for the Golden Grizzlies.
As the first came to a close, the Colonials turned down the aggression, and the Golden Grizzlies’ patience became a huge advantage for the team. In the final 15 minutes of the first, Oakland launched numerous quality attacks on the Colonials. Although none of them resulted in goals, it was clear that the team was eager to turn the tables heading into halftime.
At the half, Robert Morris led Oakland in shots taken, with five coming from Robert Morris and four coming from Oakland. However, the Colonials and Golden Grizzlies remained tied in shots on goal with two each and corners, with both teams taking a sole corner each.
Oakland started the match’s second half with much more urgency than the first. As a result, it did not take long for Oakland to shift the tide. In just the 46th minute, Frankie Mudd put the ball in the back of the net to tie things up 1-1.
Notably, the goal is Mudd’s second of the season and her sixth in a Golden Grizzly jersey.
As the second progressed, Oakland started to play more aggressively on both sides. On offense, nearly the entire team was involved in finding a goal to put the team in the lead, and on defense, the whole team fell back and was involved defensively, thwarting any pushes from the Colonials.
Just as Oakland seemed to gain control, Robert Morris struck again. In the 67th minute, a well-placed corner kick found Carson Bogan, who positioned herself perfectly and scored with a header, giving the Colonials a 2-1 lead over the Golden Grizzlies.
With time slipping away, Oakland threw everything into a last-minute push. The crowd erupted as a shot from Melanie Troy hit the back of the net — only for the excitement to be drained as the referees ruled a handball, calling back the goal. The game ended shortly after in favor of the Colonials with a final score of 2-1.
Next on the agenda, the Golden Grizzlies will travel to Wisconsin to continue conference play. Oakland has a matchup against the Milwaukee Panthers on Thursday, Sept. 26, and a game against the Green Bay Phoenix on Sunday, Sept. 29. Both games will be played on the road.