By Mike Stechschulte
Junior – Oxford High School
Another season filled with ups and downs, hardships and triumphs concluded on Oct. 28 for the Oxford Wildcats Varsity Soccer team as they lost their first regional game by a score of 3-1, and thus were eliminated from the playoffs.
At Fenton, the Wildcats found themselves on an emotional high after beating Lapeer East and Stoney Creek to win districts for the second year in a row. They prepared to take on Birmingham-Seaholm for their first regional game of the playoffs on a very muddy and wet afternoon.
In the first half, the Wildcats dominated the ball, getting lots of shots and scoring opportunities, including three to four shots that hit the goalpost. Early in the half, Oxford senior captain Eddie Summers scored off a penalty kick after Jimmy Henry was brought down inside the goal box to give the Cats the 1-0 lead.
However, in the second half, things started going wrong for the Wildcats. Two Oxford players, Josh Duval and Keane Kalso received cards, and Birmingham-Seaholm came back to score three unanswered goals.
“It was tough,” said Oxford senior Chris Schnur. “It was a really emotional game. There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears in our last game playing for Oxford.”
When asked what he thought about his last season, Schnur replied, “We got off to a good start. We had some trouble with ties early on in the season, but we had a good run in the playoffs, and that last game was especially physical, we lost some tough battles.”
The departure of this year’s seniors also paves the way for the juniors to step up and take control of the team. Paul Ebenhoeh knows that filling the shoes of players like Kalso, Summers, Henry and Schnur will not be easy.
“Those guys were awesome this year,” said Paul, “both on and off the field. It was definitely more than I expected of them. Next year we expect that the freshmen will step up and play a lot, and I think this year’s juniors can be good leaders as well.”
Ebenhoeh, along with several other juniors that include Rob Cerato, Drew Wilder, Andy Forte and Brandon McKay, will be expected to refine their games to be the best they can be for the 2004 season.
Mike Stechschulte is a Junior at Oxford High School and plans to major in the field of journalism.