By Kristi McDevitt
Sports Correspondent
The varsity soccer team had a rough time notching another victory to their 2 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie league record, but Oxford didn’t let league foes Brandon and Lapeer West get the best of them as both games ended in ties.
Against Brandon last Monday, the Wildcats found themselves with their backs to the wall only twenty minutes into the game. Oxford was down two goals when junior Zac Wasylyna received a pass from Josh Reaume and drove the ball down the ride side of the field. Wasylyna shot a rocket towards the Blackhawks keeper, which was re-directed off a Brandon defenseman and past the goalkeeper for the goal.
Oxford was finally on the board, but the half ended with the Wildcats down 2-1.
In the second half, Oxford’s offense continued their recovery as senior captain Josh DuVal took a free kick that was headed in by junior midfielder Francesco Paese to tie the score at two apiece.
As Josh Reaume attempted another score, a Brandon player took him down inside the box and Oxford was awarded a penalty kick. Oxford’s Josh DuVal stepped up to take the penalty kick and scored the go-ahead goal for the Wildcats. It looked as though Oxford would win and move into second place in the league, but Brandon scored the tying goal with only a 1:30 left in the game.
In their last competition of the week, Oxford met up with Lapeer West and for the second time in a row, ended the game in a tie.
In what head coach John Thaler described as a ‘very uneventful game,? the Wildcats out-shot the Panthers 3 to 1, but failed to put the ball in the net. ‘We had numerous golden opportunities, but could not convert,? stated Thaler.
Although Oxford was unable to score, so were the Panthers. Thaler credited his defense of DuVal, Alex Austin, Erik Anderson, and Rob Stone for their heads up play in the game, and senior goalkeeper Shane Rondy earned his fifth shutout. Oxford is now 7-1-3 overall and 2-1-3 in the FML. Oxford rounds out their first round of league play this week against Clio.
The second round of league play is set to start this Wednesday against Linden. Thaler labeled the Linden game ‘our most important so far.? Linden is responsible for Oxford’s only loss of the season when they beat the Wildcats 2-1.
Oxford is home on Saturday against Notre Dame Prep.
Overall, Thaler is pleased with his squad’s performance, but added that his team definitely needs to work on scoring. ‘Our offense really needs to put the ball away and play simple soccer,? Thaler said. He also noted that his defense is still working out some kinks with senior captain Mark Jones still out with an injury.