COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER: Oakland wins Summit League to advance to NCAA tournament
BROOKINGS, S.D. — Goals by Serena San Cartier and Nicole DeLuca led top-seed Oakland (11-5-3) to a 2-0 win over No. 2 seed Fort Wayne (10-8-1) in The Summit League Championship final on Sunday at Fishback Soccer Park.
The Golden Grizzlies earn the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and eighth overall.
“The players were fantastic today,” said head coach Nick O’Shea. “Fort Wayne did a good job, but our players just kept working and we wore them down over time. We put some fresh players in later in the first half and were able to get the go-ahead goal. Then, as the game wore on they weren’t able to stay with us over the 90 minutes. I give all the credit to our players for today.”
Oakland was the more aggressive team in the first half and it paid off when San Cartier made the breakthrough to put Oakland ahead in the 37th minute. The junior forward collected a loose ball inside the 18 and hit a shot into the left corner of the goal. The Golden Grizzlies outshot Fort Wayne 8-6 in the half.
The Golden Grizzlies continued to apply the pressure in the second half and Meghan Reynolds came close to doubling the lead less than 10 minutes after the break, but her breakaway effort was saved by the IPFW goalkeeper. The second goal eventually came for Oakland in the 74th minute when DeLuca collected a loose ball from a cornerkick and blasted a shot into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
The Oakland backline conceded just five shots on goal, and the Golden Grizzlies outshot Fort Wayne 18-12. Goalkeeper Shannon Coley finished with five saves, to continue her run of four consecutive shutouts, as Oakland did not concede a goal during 180 minutes of play at The Summit League Championships.
“Our whole team was amazing, especially in the back where Kara Weber, Sarah Reynolds and Alyssa fulton did a great job for us,” added O’Shea. “In the midfield all our players continued to run and do great work, including Julianne Boyle and Katrina Stencel who both did a great job.”
Boyle was recognized as the Tournament MVP. Oakland’s Kara Weber, Coley and Abigail Haelewyn were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Golden Grizzlies advance to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in school history. Oakland will learn its tournament opponent during the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament Selection Show, which will take place on Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Oakland Summit League Tournament Notes
- Oakland has played in 10 Summit League Championship matches
- OU is 8-2 in The Summit League Championship match
- Seven different Oakland players have been Summit League Championship MVP
- Julianne Boyle’s older sister Jessica was a two-time Summit League Championship MVP, the only player to do so in league history
- The Black and Gold are 16-2-5 in Summit League Championship play
- This marks the first time a team has won the regular season title and Summit League Championship in the same season since 2009
- Oakland is the first No. 1 seed to win The Summit League Championship since the 2004 season
- The Golden Grizzlies will host the 2013 Summit League Women’s Soccer Championship
- Oakland is the only school to win back-to-back league titles. This marks the first time a team has won consecutive league titles since OU did it in 2006-07.
Category: Colleges / Other, Oakland University
