DETROIT (10-25-23) - Graduate Student transfer
Hailey Matthews made her first #MetroSeries match against arch-rival Oakland one to remember as she fired in the game-winning goal off a free kick in the 66th minute giving Detroit Mercy a 2-1 win snapping a six-game skid against the Golden Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Titan Field. With the victory, the Titans qualified for the #HLWSOC Championship for the first time since the 2018 season.
UDM enters the 2023 HL Championship as the No. 6 seed and will travel to No. 3 seed Northern Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.
Matthews also assisted on senior
Gabby Ketola's third goal of the season while freshman
Leila Lanier posted her first career assist on Ketola's tally.
Detroit Mercy (7-8-3, 5-5 HL) wasted little time setting the tone taking a 1-0 lead just 2:59 into the game. Mattews sent in a corner kick cross into the box where Lanier used her 5-10 frame to connect on a header that beat OU (5-6-7, 3-2-5 HL) goalkeeper Julia Zangerl but hit the crossbar. The ball deflected straight down off the bar to Ketola who buried a shot into the net from point-blank range.
In the 39th minute, Oakland got the equalizer tying the game at 1-1 heading into halftime.
After a foul call in the 66th minute, Matthews set up for a free kick on the right side just outside the box. She stepped up and delivered a bending strike into the upper-left 90 which eventually knocked Oakland out of the HL championships for the first time since the 2020-21 COVID-19 shortened season.
