ROCHESTER, Mich. – For the second year in a row the Golden Grizzlies season ends in heartbreak as they fell in the Horizon League Championship 1-0 to Robert Morris
At the start of the game, the Colonials wasted no time getting their first shot of the afternoon off. Before the first minute even passed, Anass Hadran sent a shot towards the left side of the Oakland net. Fortunately, Goalkeeper of the Year Alex Flowers was there for the save.
The aggression from Robert Morris continued in the early stages of the match. With another shot fired off by Hadran, the Colonial's kept in control of the ball consistently in Oakland's territory.
Robert Morris' aggression eventually paid off. In the eighth minute, Victor Thompson Jr. chipped a shot that landed just inside the Golden Grizzlies goal to give the Colonials a 1-0 lead over the Golden Grizzlies.
12 minutes into the first, Oakland rifled off their first shot of the championship game. Andrew Darakdjian took his chance at a goal but his shot was blocked by the defense. A few minutes later, Jack Klomparens took his first shot of the game, but he missed the net on the left side.
The rest of the first saw both the Golden Grizzlies and the Colonials have solid looks at goal. Oakland's best chance of the first came with a shot from Noah Roka in the 33rd minute, who's powerful shot was just saved by Robert Morris goalkeeper Josh Lane.
At the break, Oakland had the most shots with nine to Robert Morris' six and the most corners, getting six opportunities while the Colonials had none. However, the Colonials led in shots on goal with six to Oakland's three.
In the second half's opening minutes, Darakdjian was assessed a red card, leaving the Golden Grizzlies down a man the rest of the match. With Oakland down to the Colonials, the red card actually energized the team and the Golden Grizzlies started to play with a lot more urgency.
With the energy on their side, Klomparens took a powerful shot at the Colonial goal. Despite the effort, Klomparens' shot was saved by Robert Morris goalkeeper Josh Lane. Following the shot from Klomparens, the Colonials stepped up on defense, not allowing an Oakland shot for a long stretch.
Halfway through the second half, Robert Morris had multiple chances to put the game on ice. Three different Colonials took shots from the 69th minute mark through the 77th minute mark, however, all of their attempts missed the mark.
With the match nearing its end, the Golden Grizzlies came incredibly close to scoring an equalizer, taking four shots in the match's final ten minutes. However, despite how close their attempts came, Oakland could not tie things up, and the Colonials came away with the win.
This marks the end of the Golden Grizzlies' season. The 2024 campaign marked the second year in a row the Golden Grizzlies not only had the most points in regular season play but it was also the second consecutive season Oakland made an appearance in the Horizon League Championship.
Oakland did see impactful play on their squad throughout their championship run as Carson Ballagh, Alex Flowers, and Andrew Darakdjian were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
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