Amidst the combined five yellow cards issued and despite earning two of them in the first half, the Oxford Wildcats were able to corral the Holly Broncos as they scored three first-half goals en route to a 4-0 shutout.
Holly earned one first-half yellow card and two more in the second half.
Senior Wildcat goalkeeper Tim Bachner earned his fifth shutout of the season.
The win over Holly finishes off Oxford’s Flint Metro League campaign at 4-4-1 and improves them to 6-9-3 overall.
Both teams went into the game looking to earn a .500 FML record. Oxford wasted little time scoring as senior Jake Shafer, fresh off an injury, received a dish pass from junior Travis Roth to score.
The Wildcats built upon their 1-0 lead when senior captain Mitch Seeling’s corner kick found the head of fellow senior captain Steven Walker, who headed the ball into the net for the score. Shafer then scored his second goal of the game on shot near the post from senior Doug Kiracofe’s assist.
‘The second half showed the same intensity and the fans would not be disappointed,? said Head Coach John Thaler.
Halfway through the second half, Shafer found Walker rushing past defenders on the far post. Walker ran onto the pass and poked the ball past a sliding Broncos goalkeeper to go up 4-0.
The Wildcat defense was too much for Holly and rarely allowed them any decent shots on goal. Matt Versteeg, Mark Hurrish, Tyler Hruska and Mike Kitchner did what Thaler described as ‘an outstanding job? in the back. When the ball did reach the goal area, Oxford had no problems as Bachner made two excellent saves to secure the win.
The Wildcat footballers avenged three earlier losses this season against Fenton with a come-from-behind 2-1 win against the Tigers at home Oct. 4.
The Wildcats had to overcome a 1-0 halftime deficit to declaw the Tigers.
Things got off to a very rough start as Fenton scored in the game’s first two minutes. Bachner parried a cross away from goal, but the ball went to an onrushing Fenton player who knocked it home to go up 1-0.
‘Stunned at the quick goal, [we] shifted up a gear and played solid soccer for the rest of the half,? Thaler said.
The rest of the half was scoreless.
Oxford played smoother and more aggressively in the second half and got onto the scoreboard at the 16-minute mark when Walker challenged the Fenton goalkeeper on a crossed ball’only to have him wrap his arms around Walker’s neck and drag him down.
On the penalty pick awarded, Seeling calmly netted the goal to tie the game.
As time was running down, junior Travis Roth pulled out a defender and slotted the ball to Walker, who shot far post to score the winning goal with 1:30 left. Oxford then played defense to hold onto the 2-1 win.
The Wildcats? Oct. 1 return to face the Eagles resulted in a 2-1 loss on a controversial call. The disputed ruling stems from what Thaler described as a failure to properly distinguish between the lines for soccer and football on the same playing field.
The game was tied at one goal apiece when, with 10 minutes left to play in the game, Linden’s drive into Oxford’s zone seemed to end with the ball crossing over the touch line and out of bounds.
Such a play where the ball goes out of bounds at the touch line results in a turnover and a goal kick. This would’ve given Oxford the ball. However, the referee ruled ‘play-on?, and an Eagle player made a crossing pass to an onrushing teammate who nodded in the goal for a 2-1 lead for Linden.
Thaler said the ball looked like it had gone out of bounds and should’ve been ruled out of bounds and a goal kick for Oxford. ‘The assistant referee (who made the call) wasn’t even in the position to make the call anyway.?
Whether it was the right call or a call resulting in confusion from the placement or color of the football and soccer lines (Linden’s football teams use the same field that’s used for soccer) is anyone’s guess.
The Eagles had a different perspective on the play. Linden Head Soccer Coach Kevin Fiebernitz said that his players all told him the ball remained in play. ‘I thought it was a good call,? he said.
Fiebernitz added that there’s never been any confusion on Linden’s playing field between the soccer and football lines.
‘The only thing I’ve ever seen [confused] is the goalpost to football and the goal posts for soccer,? he said.
After Linden’s goal to go up 2-1, Oxford came close to scoring a couple of times, including a chance to score with five seconds left, but were unable to put the ball in.
The game featured much aggressiveness from both teams with Linden scoring five minutes before the end of the first half for a 1-0 lead. Oxford finished the first half scoreless but was able to contain Linden.
The Wildcats scored a second-half goal when junior Adam Cook, who recently had hernia surgery, pressured the Eagles and stole a pass. He fed it to Walker, who lofted a shot over the Eagle goalkeeper’s head and off his hands to tie the game.
Oxford nearly took the lead before the disputed Linden goal, but the Wildcats? attempt on goal went wide.