By Krisit McDevitt
Sports Correspondent
Last week was a very important week for the Oxford varsity soccer team, important because if Oxford were to lose in any of the District rounds their season would be over.
Oxford faced three very tough competitors; the first was league foe Ortonville-Brandon last Monday.
At Oxford, junior Zac Wasylyna got it started for the Wildcats just a minute and a half into the game with a goal off a great pass from junior Francesco Paese. Wasylyna would keep it going for the Wildcats, as he would go on to score three more goals and defeat the Blackhawks 4-0 and advance into the second round of districts.
Oxford’s defense completely shutdown Brandon and helped senior keeper Shane Rondy earn his 14th shutout of the season.
In the second round at Linden, Oxford competed against Auburn Hills Avondale. Looking to make it to the district final on Saturday, the Wildcats knew they had a tough team to overcome and totally stepped up to meet the challenge. Despite Oxford’s numerous opportunities to score, the first half ended with both teams scoreless.
Amazingly, the Wildcats came out even stronger in the second half. Oxford got on the scoreboard first as Wasylyna scored off a free kick on a shot that rocketed into the far post.
Although Oxford was up a goal, they still kept applying the pressure and were rewarded on a corner kick as senior Alex Austin scored on a great header to the near post.
Again, Oxford’s defense was relentless in keeping the Yellowjackets out of scoring contention. Wildcat keeper Shane Rondy earned his 15th shutout of the year and Oxford’s record improves to 17-1-4 heading into the District final.
And then there were two ? Oxford and Notre Dame Prep. Oxford is no stranger to the district finals.
The Wildcats have been to the finals the past four years in a row, winning the title in 2002 and 2003. Each year, all games were either won or lost in overtime’so why would this year be any different?
Oxford offensively outshot the Irish the entire game, and defensively shut them out of scoring contention most of the game. All-star keeper Shane Rondy immediately stopped any random shot that Prep was able to get past Oxford’s stellar defense.
Regulation ended with both teams scoreless, and it seemed as though the first overtime would end that way as well. That was until Oxford was awarded a free kick outside the box with 56 seconds remaining. Junior Zac Wasylyna rifled the shot from a corner-kick toward the net. The ball deflected off a Prep defender to junior Bryan Ward who was wide open on the right side and kicked in what was essentially an open net.
As the entire Prep defense and keeper made a mad dash toward the ball, Ward chipped the ball in for the goal and the win. The Oxford fans erupted, the Wildcats converged on Ward, and the Irish players hit the ground in despair: the Oxford varsity soccer team was the 2005 district champions. Head coach John Thaler was thrilled with the outcome and his team’s effort in the victory, noting that the Wildcats were defeated last year on the very same play in overtime.
*** BREAKING NEWS: Oxford beat Mt. Pleasant 3-2 in the regional semi-finals last night. Senior Alex Austin scored the winning goal in the first minute of the second overtime. Oxford now advances to the regional finals and will play the winner of the East Lansing/Lapeer East game on Friday. ***