The Wildcat varsity soccer team’s OAA White match-up against the Avondale Yellow Jackets last week ended in a draw with a 1-1 score, bringing their current record 2-0-2 on the OAA White and 5-0-3 overall.
According to Head Coach John Thaler ‘the game was a very physical contest with many hard challenges throughout.?
‘Oxford had numerous chances on goal but couldn’t convert (in the first half),? he said.
‘The defense of junior Zach Rall, junior Ethan Cutler, senior Trevor Dean, senior Nathan Sharpe, and junior Dominic Bertacini did a fine job holding off any Avondale offensive threat.?
Ending the first half with no score on either team, the Wildcats were determined to enter the second half with more force. With 10:10 left on the clock, Captain Greg Knox scored a free kick in from 25 yards out. Unfortunately with the clock winding down, Avondale earned a penalty kick, which allowed them to tie the score up at 1-1.
While they weren’t able to convert another goal before time ran out, Thaler said his team showed they were offensively strong with junior captain Nick Wright and freshman Enrique Yebra controlling much of the tempo and helped create many scoring opportunities, along with senior captain Connor Bandel who made three saves on the night in goal.?
‘It was a hard fought (game),? Thaler added. ‘We should have won, but we got careless and gave up a penalty kick. We were the more dominant team and should have (had) two other goals for sure.?
Oxford is on the road tomorrow (Sept. 17) to kickoff against Fenton, before returning home against the Lapeer Lighting on Tuesday Sept. 22.