By Kristi McDevitt
Sports Correspondent
The varsity soccer team is in the second round of their Flint Metro League schedule and the Wildcats are going to great lengths to see that more victories are posted in the win column ? not ties.
In their first meeting, the Lapeer East Eagles and Oxford tied at 0-0, but this time around, Oxford prevailed. At home last Monday, the Wildcats controlled most of the game and created numerous scoring opportunities for themselves.
East battled for the ball and for goals, but Oxford’s veteran defense and tenacious goalkeeping kept the Eagles out of the net.
The Wildcat’s first score was a result of senior Dave Kourtjian being pulled down in the box by an East defender as Oxford was awarded a penalty kick. Senior captain Josh DuVal shot the penalty kick and converted to put Oxford up 1-0.
That is how the score remained for the rest of the game, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. In the second half, Oxford came back strong and continued to pressure East’s defense.
DuVal had a golden opportunity to score, but his rocket shot from 30 yards out hit just under the crossbar and bounced off the goal line.
The Eagles pressured Oxford in the last five minutes but could not score. Senior keeper Shane Rondy recorded his 11th shutout of the season.
Oxford hosted the Brandon Blackhawks last Wednesday for their second meeting of the season.
The Wildcats were not only out to avenge the 2-2 tie earlier this season, but to also get a win on the Blackhawks and set the tone for the upcoming soccer districts. In less than two weeks, Oxford and Brandon are scheduled to meet in the first round of the district tournament.
The Wildcat squad came together to send their opponent home with a loss, and a problem: find a way to defeat the Wildcats in districts. On Wednesday, the game was evenly matched throughout the first half of play with both teams having some great scoring opportunities.
Oxford got on the board first as junior Zac Wasylyna received a pass from junior Francesco Paese and beat a few Blackhawk defenders and rocketed a shot past the keeper to put Oxford up 1-0. In the second half, Oxford’s tough defense and senior keeper Shane Rondy continued to keep the Blackhawks out of scoring contention, while the Wildcat’s defense kept creating more chances to score.
With 20 seconds left in the game, Brandon was awarded a corner kick, and desperate to score, jammed the box with eleven players, including the goalkeeper, to try and get the ball in the net and tie the game.
The corner kick was taken, but senior Josh Reaume headed the ball clear only to find an open Wasylyna. Wasylyna charged the open goal with Paese riding along with him. With half a dozen Blackhawks, keeper included, trying to run down the ball, Wasylyna passed to ball off to Paese who put the ball in the back of the net with only four seconds remaining.
It was the second meeting between the two teams and both teams knew they’d see each other in less than two weeks time for the first round of districts.
The game was evenly matched throughout the first half with both teams having some great scoring opportunities. It was Oxford who got on the board first.
Junior Zac Wasylyna received a pass from junior Francesco Paese and beat a few defenders at the top of the 18. He rocketed a shot that beat Brandon’s keeper to go up 1 ? 0. The game remained 1 ? 0 at half with Oxford’s defense keeping the Blackhawks out. In the second half Oxford had more opportunities to score but came up short.
Once again the defense and keeper Shane Rondy wouldn’t let any balls get past them. With 20 seconds left to go in the game, Brandon earned a corner kick. Brandon’s keeper came all the up to get in the play which now had a total of 11 Blackhawks in the box. The corner kick was taken and senior Josh Reaume headed the ball clear which found Wasylyna.
Wasylyna charged the open goal with Francesco Paese riding along with him. With a half dozen Blackhawks, including the keeper, trying to run down the ball saw Wasylyna pass the ball off to Paese who put the ball in the net.
Oxford defeated the Blackhawks 2-0 and their league record improves to 7-1-4 in the FML and 13-1-4 overall.