It was the Shae Murison show on Sunday afternoon in Oakland. Murison scored all three of Soul’s goals as the home squad cruised to a 3-1 victory versus the visiting SF Glens SC to earn their second playoff appearance in as many years.
The scoring came early and often. Just six minutes into the contest, Murison scored her first of the day when she won a one-on-one opportunity with the SF keeper, dribbling past and then depositing the ball into the twine to give Oakland an early 1-0 lead.
This lead didn’t last very long, however. Just moments later in the 10th minute Glens leveled the contest at 1-1 when SF’s Mia Bhuta slotted a great lead pass into the Soul box where Julia Saunicheva picked it up on the end of a well-timed run and put a shot past Layla Armas.
Not to be outdone, Soul answered even quicker than Glens had. In the 12th minute, Oakland regained the lead when Sam Tran charged up the right side of the pitch and played a crosser past the face of the goal to an unmarked Murison who buried the one-timer to put her club back on top for the final time.
Murison made it a hat trick later in the first half when a long clearance from the Soul penalty area from Alice Barbieri found a running Murison. Murison caught the keeper out of position and put a low shot towards the right side of the net from well outside the box finding a gap and giving Oakland a 3-1 lead in the 27th minute.
Glens and Soul would trade scoring opportunities for the rest of the contest, but all of the scoring would be contained to the first half, as Oakland would hold steadfast on the defense and ride the clock out, holding on to their 3-1 advantage when the final whistle blew.
Soul will host a playoff game for the first time in franchise history on Friday, July 5th when they welcome visiting FC Olympia to Cal State East Bay in Hayward, CA. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 PM PT.
Oakland Soul SC vs SF Glens SC
USL W League | June 30, 2024
Venue: Merritt College, Oakland, California
Kickoff: 6:00 PM PT
Weather: 71 degrees, Sunny
SCORELINE:
OAK: 3
SFG: 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
OAK: Shae Murison 6’
SF: Julia Saunicheva 10’
OAK: Shae Murison 12’
OAK: Shae Murison 27’
OAKLAND SOUL LINEUP: Layla Armas, Kyah Coady, Tatiana Cunningham (Aki Yuasa), Arianna Veland (Sydney Shepherd), Clare Robke (Zoe Franks), Alice Barbieri, Henar Urteaga, Miranda Nild, Katie O’Kane, Sam Tran, Shae Murison (Kennedy Schoennauer)
Unused subs: Rebecca Sherry, Mia Colombini