The Oakland women’s soccer team traveled to Indianapolis this weekend to take on the Indiana University of Indianapolis Jaguars. Unfortunately, for the Golden Grizzlies, the loss marks their fifth game in a row and their last road game of the year.
Before the game even got going, the Jaguars already hung a point on the board. Only 19 seconds into the game, Maia Ransom of IU Indy knocked in a goal past freshman goalkeeper Lauren Perry.
Possession stayed in the Jaguar’s hands as they fired off two more shots. Ransom again found the net only 10 minutes later, giving the Jaguars an early 2-0 lead.
Oakland was able to take control for a while, with sophomore Shannon Brown getting off a shot that went a little wide left. It was a short-lived offensive, however, as IU Indy took possession right back. Ransom almost found the net again, missing on top.
At the 16:33 mark in the first half, Lindsey Castillo of IU Indy scored the team’s third goal, assisted by teammate Emma Frey. It was a demoralizing first chunk of the game for the Golden Grizzlies, but the team was determined to keep fighting.
Just over a minute later, junior forward Marina Downing got a great shot on goal but was blocked by Jaguar goalie Ashton Kudlo. There was some more back and forth until OU made a great defensive stand near the 36-minute mark. The Golden Grizzlies weathered four shot attempts in about four minutes, aided by a Perry save.
Junior Frankie Mudd was able to get two quality looks at the net, but Kudlo saved both again to end the half.
The Golden Grizzlies again had to hunker down and defend for almost a ten-minute stretch to start the second half. IU Indy took five shots at Perry from the 49 to the 58-minute mark, but they were again denied by Perry and the defense.
Oakland staged another late offensive push, featuring shots from Mudd, freshman Gabriella Ruffino and redshirt freshman Thai Quallich. None found their mark.
The offense failed to get on the board despite six shots from Mudd and four from Brown. It was Oakland’s eighth loss of the season, where they scored no goals.
The loss brings the Golden Grizzlies to a 3-13-2 record on the year and 2-7 in conference play. OU has one more game left, facing the University of Detroit Mercy at home on Wednesday, Oct. 30, for Alumni Day.
Oakland will unfortunately miss the Horizon League tournament even with a win, as only the top six seeds play. If they take care of the Titans, they’ll finish 3-7 in the conference, good for no higher than seventh place.