Ouch. After another two league losses, it’s come time to make some adjustments for Coach Val Cerato and her team.
The Ladycats lost twice last week, once in a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the Fenton Tigers in the home finale, and the other a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Lapeer East Eagles.
With their last home game of the 2004 season, the Cats made a valiant effort to tie late in regulation time, putting consistent pressure on the Tiger’s goalkeeper for several minutes. But the ladies could not manage anything other than Sam Bono’s goal in the first half. Despite the score, the Wildcats have outplayed the Tigers in both of the team’s meetings this season, not only keeping up but also generating chances of their own.
Goalkeeper, Nicole Carter, made a potential game-saving stop with about two minutes left in the game on a breakaway chance. She kept with the Fenton player as she attempted to deke and made the spectacular diving stop. Coach Cerato called Nicole’s performance ‘classic Carter,? and had nothing but praise for her goaltender.
‘I think our two best games this season were both against Fenton,? affirmed Cerato.
Recently, the coach has given out ‘player of the game? honors to certain players whom she felt performed extraordinarily well throughout the course of the game, and against Fenton she was not shy about naming them.
‘Players of the game were Andrea Ricketts and Lisa Reile,? she said. ‘Andrea has really stepped up her game this year. She gets really intense out there. She’s really aggressive and wants to win every ball.
‘Lisa also was very intense. She made a lot of nice passes and won a lot of balls. She also distributes the ball nicely and plays her position very well.?
On May 17, the Wildcats once again ran into the red-hot Lapeer East Eagles, losing by a decisive 3-0. During the final stages of the game, Cerato made the decision to substitute a defender for another forward to try to make an offensive push.
‘It seems when I make that change we dominate. We get more shots off and we keep the ball down in their end a little bit more,? she explained. ‘I think I’m going to try that earlier in the game instead of at the end and see if it makes a difference.?
As for the remainder of the schedule, the Cats are set to play Brandon on May 19 before traveling to Lapeer West May 21. Furthermore, the team’s game against Holly has been re-scheduled for the second time, and is now set for May 27, and will be the last league game of the season for Oxford.
Mike Stechschulte is a junior at Oxford High School who plans to major in the field of journalism.