By Kristi McDevitt
Sports Correspondent
The Ladycats were looking for their first league win last Monday when they took on the Holly Bronchos at home. In the first half, both teams seemed sluggish at times, and then suddenly exude bursts of energy off and on. Oxford had a few opportunities to score in the first half, but could not convert. Both teams went into half time scoreless.
At the start of the second half, Oxford continued to control the tempo of the game, but Holly’s tough defense only allowed a few shots through. With 20 minutes left in the game, a Holly midfielder was hurt and play was stopped for five minutes. This gave both teams a breather, and a chance for Oxford to re-group. When play continued, Oxford’s Sam Bono gathered a loose ball and shot a screamer past the Holly goalkeeper. At the final whistle, the Ladycats had won their first league game of the season. Oxford goalkeeper, Sophomore Kelly Henry earned her first shutout of the season, and had seven saves on the night. Oxford’s record improved to 2-0-1 overall, and 1-0-1 in the FML.
Last Wednesday, the Ladycats traveled to Fenton to take on the Tigers in league play. In the first five minutes, Oxford had a great opportunity to convert on a cross kick but the shot couldn’t be knocked in. The momentum continued until Fenton had a great play that led to their first goal of the game. A few minutes later, Fenton would score again, and head into halftime up 2-0.
Coach John Thaler made a few changes in the Ladycat’s formation to try and get an edge on the Tigers. Despite being down two goals, Oxford didn’t give up. Goalkeeper Kelly Henry made some great saves to keep the Ladycats alive. Oxford senior Christine Fortier took a great shot off a pass from Sam Bono and beat the Fenton goalkeeper for an Oxford goal. The Ladycats were down one goal and still applying the pressure to the Tigers. Oxford received a corner kick and Christine Fortier was there to re-direct the header, but the Fenton goalkeeper was able to stop the ball. In the fading moments of the game, Fenton added an insurance goal. The game ended with the Ladycats defeated 1-3. Oxford Junior Lisa Reile received the ‘Player of the Match? award given by the Fenton Tigers. Oxford’s record: 2-1-1 overall, 1-1-1 FML.
To wrap up the week’s scheduled play, the Ladycat hosted the Lake Orion Dragons in non-league action on Friday. Going into Friday night’s game, Lake Orion was ranked #6 among Oakland County teams. ‘It was expected coming into the game that we’d be up against a tough team,? stated Oxford coach John Thaler. The Dragons proved to be just that, defeating Oxford 0-7. After the loss, the Ladycats were thankful that the results were not as bad a last year. In 2004, the game was ended at half time after the Dragons had scored 10 goals in the first half. All in all, Coach Thaler was proud of his squad’s performance. ‘We didn’t break down mentally one bit! We never gave up and held it together as a team.? Oxford goalkeeper Kelly Henry took a lot of shots from Lake Orion and had many excellent saves. Defenders Jackie Patterson and Ashley Marshall also saved many shots from going in just by being in the correct positions and the right times. The loss put Oxford’s record at 2-2-1 overall. ‘Our only losses have come from two highly talented teams,? coach Thaler said, ‘We now must move on, and put this game behind us. We are ready to get back into league play.?