UD Mercy stymies Oakland
DETROIT – Kyla Kellermann scored for the Oakland University women’s soccer team in a 3-1 loss to Detroit (8-3-1) on Thursday at Titan Field. The Titans outshot the Golden Grizzlies 16-11.
“We just didn’t come out here and compete at the level that we need to in order to win,” said head coach Nick O’Shea. “It was not a good performance for our team. We didn’t take charge of the match and we made a number of bad decisions.”
Kellermann pulled Oakland to within a goal when she scored in the 86th minute to make it 2-1. Julianne Boyle found Kellermann open in space and the forward fired the ball past the sprawling Detroit goalkeeper. It was the fourth goal of the season for Kellermann, who leads Oakland in scoring.
The first half offered few scoring chances for both teams, but the Titans were able to claim the lead on a goal by Lauren Roffey in the 32nd minute. Nina Carter started the play with a long-range shot that forced a diving save from OU goalkeeper Anne Berschbach. However, a Detroit player recovered the rebound and laid the ball back to Roffey who tucked the ball into the far post.
UMD outshot Oakland 8-2 in the first half, but the Golden Grizzlies were the more aggressive team to start the second half. Meghan Reynolds took a shot that was just tipped crossbar in the 50th minute. From the resulting corner kick Shannon Doyle found space for a shot, but hit it high. In the 54th minute Meghan Reynolds had another opportunity to score on a close-range volley that went just wide of the near post.
“Julianne Boyle had a great game for us,” said O’Shea. “She has really been working hard for us in every single game this year. You hate to single out a player, but I think she is an example to all our players of how to stay active during the game.”
After Oakland’s missed opportunities, Roffey made it 2-0 when she scored from a corner kick in the 59th minute. Sarah Dzuris sent in the cross, which was flicked on by Alyssa Riley to Roffey for the finish. The final goal for Detroit came in the 87th minute when Abby McCollum blocked a clearance attempt by Oakland goalkeeper Payj O’Shea back into the goal.
Detroit held a 10-5 edge in shots on goal, with Berschbach recording four saves and O’Shea making three saves. Each of O’Shea’s second-half stops were breakaway saves. Nora Abolins made four saves in the Detroit goal.
Oakland will travel to No. 18 Dayton on Sunday for a match that is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. It is the final non-league match for the team before the start of Summit League play.
Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other, High School, Oakland University
