Improvement is beginning to show for the Lady Cat Soccer Team.
Despite a tie and a hard fought loss, the team’s future appears to be looking up and the girls are continuing to fight hard. On April 28, Oxford ground out a hard fought 2-2 tie with Brandon, before losing to Lapeer West 2-0 on May 3.
Against Brandon, the Cats displayed a stingy defense, which has become the team’s strong suit. However, the girls failed to have Lady Luck on their side.
Freshman phenom Sam Bono scored the first goal of the game late in the first half for a 1-0 lead. Brandon then pulled ahead with two goals scored early in the second half. When everyone thought another game was in the books, Captain Sam Marshall came to the rescue, scoring late to force the tie.
Junior Otiela Theobold was assigned the daunting task of marking Brandon’s top player, Jacqueline Back. Theobold performed admirably, limiting Back to just one or two shots total. She received one of coach Cerato’s ‘player of the game? awards.
The other player to receive notice from Cerato was sweeper Christine Fortier.
‘There were a lot of balls that came in to her, and she got them all, odd angles or whatever, she managed to get a good solid foot on them and clear them out,? recalled Cerato.
The team’s turnaround has certainly caught the eye of Cerato.
‘We’re doing a lot of things right,? she stated. ‘I think we’re passing well, we’re playing as more of a team and we’re distributing the ball better.?
However, there are still some things to work on, according to the coach.
‘I think there’s still a little bit of tentativeness with winning these 50-50 balls. Some of the girls go all out for them, but others are a little bit hesitant,? she said.
Oxford only has one more home game left this season before renovations to their home field will force the team on the road to close out 2004. The game will be on May 7 against the Linden Eagles at 6:30 P.M.
Mike Stechschulte is a junior at Oxford High School who plans to major in the field of journalism.