Box Score
Season Stats
KALAMAZOO -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team improved to 2-0-0 after defeating Oakland, 2-0, in front of 215 fans at the WMU Soccer Complex on Friday afternoon.
From the get go the Broncos dictated possession and tempo as junior winger Stephanie Skowneski ripped a shot on goal from the right side of the box in the first minute. In the 10th minute the Broncos got on the scoreboard after a cross by Caitlin Henderson was headed into the Oakland net by a Grizzly defender. The center-back made an attempt to clear it but the ball went in the opposite direction and WMU was handed a 1-0 lead.
WMU capitalized again on its pressure after being awarded a corner in the 37th minute. Henderson placed a ball in the box that was headed down by junior centerback Alison Szczypka. Nicole Dulyea pounced on the ball and punched it in to the net for her first goal of the season and giving the Broncos a 2-0 lead.
"Set pieces have become such an important part to soccer and we have some girls that are very talented in the air," said head coach Suzie Grech. "They were able to create some chaos and we capitalized on the opportunity."
Although not showing up on the stat sheet with a goal or an assist, junior Nikollete Rivera was the engine that drove the dominating midfield on the afternoon.
"She did not stop," said Grech. "She has been solid for us during the first to games and was constantly buzzing around and creating havoc. Our midfield has some of the strongest technical players on our team and Oakland allowed us to play to our strength and dictate possession."
With possession under control for a majority of the game, senior goal keeper Julia Francy was only counted on to make three saves. The first came on an Oakland corner and Francy was able to deflect a header from just dipping under the crossbar. The other two shots were from well outside the box and were easily handled. The shutout was the 13th in her four year career with the win being her 14th.
Western Michigan continues non-conference play as they head on the road to East Lansing to battle Michigan State on Sunday at noon.
