Wildcats look to turn their season around, finish strong
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD — The Oxford varsity girls soccer team has not got off to the start they had anticipated at the beginning of the season, but with the players’ hard work, determination and versatility, head coach

Gabrielle Schriver said the Wildcats are looking to turn things around in the second half of the season.
The Wildcats defeated the Goodrich Martians (7-2-1) in a non-league match 3-0 on April 24. Three different players scored for Oxford, which controlled the pace of play throughout the match.
Oxford is now 2-5-3 on the season and 0-2-2 in the Oakland Activities Association Red division, the league’s highest division, and one of the most competitive leagues in the state. The Wildcats division includes Bloomfield Hills, Rochester, Troy Athens, Troy High School, Rochester Adams and Stoney Creek.
Senior Piper Boyt scored the Wildcats’ first goal against the Martians about five minutes into the game to give Oxford the early 1-0 lead. It was all Wildcats after that.

Senior Anna Terenzi scored Oxford’s second goal about 15 minutes into the first half off a cross from senior Vivian Cruz.
Just over eight minutes into the second half, sophomore midfielder Olivia Smith scored the Wildcats’ third goal with a shot from near the 18-yard line after the Goodrich defense failed to clear the ball out of their defensive third.
The Wildcats controlled play throughout the game in the midfield and in Goodrich’s defensive end, while the defense played a strong game shutting down the Martian attackers. Goalies Chelsea Myrand and Evangeline Lulgjuraj faced a few shots each but nothing threatening that they could not easily handle.
While the Wildcats’ record is not what the team had wanted halfway through the season, Schriver, who is in her third year as head coach, said the team had a discussion about how they wanted to finish the season.

“We definitely have respect for our opponent, Goodrich, but our record just hasn’t shown how good of a team we are this year. We possess the ball really well and we play really well as a team. I had no doubt that we’d get it done (tonight). They were really hungry (for a win),” Schriver said.
One of the hallmarks this year’s team is that they always fight to the final whistle – four of the team’s losses were by one goal.
“That’s something that we talked about in the beginning of the year: what we want our identity to be, what we want to define us. Something they chose as a team is to be resilient. They work so hard and never give up no matter what, whether we’re down a goal or up three, they’re never going to stop. So, that’s something we really find our identity in,” Schriver said.
Team cohesiveness is another major factor for the team, and all the girls get along and support one another.

“It’s truly like a family. They always want to be together. We had a choice to make a couple of weeks ago when the wins weren’t going our way. It’s easy to start making excuses and get negative, but ultimately we had a team talk and I gave them a choice: we either just have fun or we can decide that we’re going to dig our heels in and keep fighting. I have a really good group of captains, and a really good group of girls, and they all decided that we’re not giving up on this, no matter what our record is,” Schriver said.
Schriver and assistant coach Emma Gordon regularly discuss how the team’s versatility will aid them in turning the season around and know they have a lot of depth on the team.

“We feel that we can pretty much plug in any player, even in different positions, and it doesn’t drop the level of our team at all,” Schriver said. “We’re not a team that has a superstar or a couple superstars; we’re a team that everyone is well-rounded.”
Oxford’s next home game is 7:15 p.m. May 5 in Wildcat Stadium against Northville. Oxford then takes on Novi at 7 p.m. May 6 in Wildcat Stadium.