Senior Brianna Pastewski pulled back her leg for the penalty kick.
Her leg came down and her foot connected with the ball, sending it to the top of Lapeer East’s net and out of reach of the goalie’s stretched fingers.
The ball landed in the back of the net for Oxford’s lone goal in the semi-final district playoff against Lapeer East last Friday.
The Lady Cats ended the game with a loss to Lapeer East, 3-1.
‘We played a little slow from the start, but we stepped it up quickly,? said Coach Gary Skrzycki. ‘I think we gave them a challenge. We saw Lapeer East once before in the season, they beat us 4-0. Today’s game was a good match between two teams that wanted to win.?
Oxford was coming into the game after their shut out against Marine City.
‘We didn’t know what to expect from them,? said Skrzycki. ‘The girls came out really strong, really aggressive and moved the ball. We were able to give them a really good challenge and we were excited about that. I think that win helped us today.?
East scored three goals in the first half of the game, but the Lady Cats gave them a fight in the next 40 minutes and denied every one of their shots and kept a tighter control on the ball.
Skrzycki admitted the girls made a few mistakes and Lapeer took advantage of them.
‘They played well,? he noted, ‘but our girls, our Oxford Wildcats played outstanding soccer. We made some adjustments at half time and difference between first half and second half definitely showed.?
Brianne from penalty kick ? We talk a lot about taking chances in front of the opponent’s goal and that was taking a chance. You have to test the goalie, don’t assume they can stop every goal. That’s what we try to do is test the goalie the best we could. It was one of those opportunities to strike on goal so we did.
‘The program and the team have definitely improved,? said Skrzycki. ‘Next year is going to be a good chance for us. Some teams lose some players, every school loses some seniors but gain some freshmen. Things change and it’s always a new dynamic every year.?
The girls finished sixth in the Flint Metro League, one spot better then last year.
‘We made it to semi-finals,? said Skrzycki. ‘The girls made little improvements, but all big steps for them.?
Lauren Kobylik, Ariana Donahue , and Brianna DeMeyere scored for Lapeer East.
The team ended the season with a overall record 7-9-4.