By Wendi Price
Staff Writer
wprice@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD — In a battle of blue and gold, the Oxford Girls Varsity Soccer team prevailed with a 4-2 win over Clarkston at Wildcat Stadium last Friday.
“I am just proud of the team tonight,” said Gabby Schriver, head coach. “We did a much better job defensively, just staying disciplined. It’s something we’ve been working on all week, something we’ve struggled with this season so I’m proud of their coachability and resilience that they showed from a tough loss (3-1 to Rochester Adams) on Tuesday. I’m proud of them winning. Definitely feels good. It came at the right time.”
The Wildcats took the lead less than nine minutes into the first half with a goal from senior Ella Boyd with an assist from freshman Addison Dahlke.
They kept control on the play, taking more shots on the goal. With 13:38 left in the half, sophomore Madelyn Boyd put Oxford up 2-0 with her goal.
Clarkston scored their first goal three minutes into the second half from freshman Alexa Knight.
The Wildcats responded with another goal from Madelyn Boyd less than a minute later, putting the score at 3-1.
Madelyn Boyd scored again with 14 minutes left in the game with an assist from junior Samantha Zeiter.
Clarkston finished the night with a goal from senior Avery Perkins with four minutes left in the game.
Schriver shared Madelyn and Ella weren’t playing as forwards last season and the sister bond has helped.
“It’s been funny watching them work together,” she said. “I think sometimes they’re a little too similar and they’ll make the same runs. Overall, it’s really fun to watch them as sisters to work up top together.”
Schriver added the team chemistry overall is amazing.
“There’s nothing like it,” she said. “Our team chemistry is something that’s very special and didn’t really take much to build. The girls were just instantly – it’s like a family. It’s one of the best parts of the season.”
The Wildcats finished the week with a 2-2 tie with Farmington Hills Mercy on Saturday.
“It’ll be a tough game,” Schriver said before the game. “We’re missing quite a few players against Clarkston, and everyone got a lot of minutes. It’ll be the same tomorrow, so we get to make sure we recover well – that’s for sure.”
She added that the Wildcats have struggled so far this season.
“We play really hard in our league games and our rival games,” Schriver said. “Then, we go against teams where the name doesn’t mean as much to us and we kind of slack off. We need to make sure we stay mentally (focused) and disciplined. Mercy, I’m sure is a good team, so we just need to make sure we value that game just as we value tonight.”
She added it will help when the team gets ready for post season.
“Every game is a learning opportunity,” she said. “Postseason – it’s knockout, elimination style and everyone makes it to the playoffs. We have to learn from every game and we have to build confidence throughout this season. You can’t go in the postseason not confident.”
Oxford (4-4-1, 1-2 OAA Red) opened this week against league foe Troy Athens on Tuesday.
“They are a really good team so it’ll be a very tough match up,” Schriver said.
The Wildcats host Birmingham Groves on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“They’ll be tough as well,” Schriver said. “We lost to them last year so we kind of have some some bad blood in our minds. We’ve got to come out strong for that one.”