This last weekend, Oakland University (OU) women’s soccer went on the road to Wisconsin to play the Milwaukee Panthers and the Green Bay Phoenix. It’s a road trip that every Horizon League school makes. The Golden Grizzlies would split the weekend games, losing to Milwaukee but winning at Green Bay.
Thursday, Sept. 26: 1-0 loss at Milwaukee
The Panthers went on the attack against the Oakland defense early. Milwaukee attempted three goals and took three corner kicks in the first nine minutes of action, but OU sophomore goalie Julia Zangerl and the defense remained solid.
Junior forward Frankie Mudd took a shot of her own early in the first half but was deflected by Milwaukee’s goalkeeper Parker Donahugh. Outside of a few more attempts by the Golden Grizzlies in the half, the Panthers largely controlled the game in the first 45 minutes. They had nine shots compared to Oakland’s three in the first half, and there were nine corner kicks to none.
Zangerl did an excellent job defending OU’s net. She had four saves and was key in keeping the Golden Grizzlies fighting.
Coming out of the break, the Panthers fired off five goals and a corner kick, all inside the first eight minutes of the second half. A big problem in the game was controlling time of possession. Milwaukee put much more pressure on the Golden Grizzlies than the Golden Grizzlies put on them.
All that pressure culminated in three quick fouls for OU, including a yellow card on Lisa Kazandjian at the 57:45 mark. Brooke Blackstock’s foul soon after gave Milwaukee’s Kayla Rollins a free kick, which she knocked in past Zangerl, making it a 1-0 game for the Golden Grizzlies.
Feeling the pressure, Oakland ripped off three attempts at a goal, but Donahugh was up for the challenge, saving three goals within ten minutes. It would be OU’s last real run at tying the game, and Milwaukee earned a hard-fought win over the Golden Grizzlies.
These offensive frustrations are nothing new on the season. This was their fourth loss of the year where the score was 1-0. There were also two ties, one to the University of North Dakota, 1-1, and the other to the Bowling Green Falcons, 0-0. Throw in a 2-1 loss to Robert Morris, and you have a large majority of games that could’ve swung the Golden Grizzlies way if they could just knock in a goal or two.
Sunday, Sept. 29: 1-0 Win at Green Bay
The team badly needed a pick-me-up after the disappointing loss to Milwaukee. The team spent the previous day in Milwaukee, taking in the city and enjoying each other’s company.
“Being able to spend a day in Milwaukee helped make the connections on and off the field stronger,” junior Shannon Brown said. “It allowed us to create our own entertainment while on an away trip, and not necessarily keeping our focus on soccer 24/7.”
Both teams came out of the gate physically, with seven fouls happening in the first 17 minutes. The Phoenix controlled the game on offense early on, mirroring the struggles that the Golden Grizzlies faced against Milwaukee.
That Oakland defense kept coming up big early on, though. In the first 24 minutes, Green Bay got off six shots, with four of them being saved by Zangerl.
Late in the first half, after Oakland was mostly forced to play hard defense all game, the Golden Grizzlies finally got their opening. Brown knocked in a goal off an assist from junior forward Marina Downing, making it a 1-0 Grizzly lead.
“Our team needs to continue to be hungry for goal-scoring opportunities and finishing the chances that we do get,” Brown said.
The second half saw Oakland with a stretch of pressure on the Phoenix, attempting four shots in about six minutes, although none found their mark. Freshman midfielder Thai Quallich attempted two of them. Green Bay goalie Mallorie Benhart kept the Phoenix in the game, staying steady in the net with three saves in the second half.
Green Bay would get a few more looks in at Zangerl, but OU was able to pull out a gritty win to end the weekend road trip on a high note. The win brings the team to 3-8-2 on the season and 2-2 in conference play.
Brown and the team are ready for the challenges going forward. “This team is ready to face any adversity thrown our way because we know we will have each other’s backs,” Brown said.
Mudd agreed with this. “The mindset going forward is to keep working hard together as a team and do everything in our power to set us up for success,” Mudd said.
Next up for the Golden Grizzlies is a road trip to Purdue Fort Wayne on Oct. 5.