Loss to Oakland leaves SUU at 1-1

By DAVID DeMILLE
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

SUU dropped a conference matchup with Oakland University 5-1 Thursday to fall to 1-1 in conference play.
Oakland’s Natalie Simas scored two goals as the Golden Grizzlies took a 4-0 lead and coasted to the win.
The Thunderbirds fought hard against the defending Mid-Con champions, but were unable to match the talent and experience on the field.
Goalie Megan Flowers had another strong 90 minutes in goal for SUU, following her all-tournament selection in the Northern Arizona Mountain Classic by stopping 8 shots.
Oakland’s Ingrid Mortensen iced the game just 11 seconds into the second half with a strong cross shot that beat Flowers and gave the Grizzlies the 4 goal cushion.
SUU showed its abilities on the lone T-Bird scoring play, as Elysia Cannon scored off a free-kick pass from Annie Payne.
“We haven’t practiced the play that way,” coach Brian Stock said. “There was an opportunity and we took it. It was good to see the creativity on that play.”
Payne’s fifth assist of the season added to her SUU single-season record, and her passing from the middle has had a huge impact as the ’Birds offense has improved from a year ago.
“That was a role we asked Annie to assume,” Stock said. “You have to have players who get the ball to others to score. We knew Annie had that playmaking ability.”
The outcome was one-sided, with Oakland out-shooting SUU 26-16, including a 13-9 edge in shots on goal, but the improvement by the ’Birds was evident, mounting an offense against a good team and keeping the ball in the offensive zone for much of the match.
Erica Demers and Jenny Young also had goals for the Grizzlies.
The team’s 1-1 conference record should provide a good opportunity to secure a spot in the conference tournament with matches against Valparaiso and IUPUI on Friday and next Sunday.
“We’re even right now,” Cannon said. “We really have a good chance next week. We need to take advantage of it.”
The performance showed SUU’s capabilities and legitimized the team as a competitor in the conference.
“The key is that we never stopped playing,” Stock said. “The experience level is getting to us as we make mental mistakes and teams take advantage, but I thought we had our chances and goal and kept the pressure going forward.”