Sage ties Oxford

On Monday evening Sage Hill boy's varsity soccer team hosted last year’s Academy League champions (Oxford Academy) and tied the game 0-0. We played in unusually warm and dry weather for a total of 100 minutes: a full game of 80 minutes, plus a supplemental 20 minutes of overtime. Although our players were clearly exhausted, they persevered and hustled until the final whistle.

Our squad pounded the opponent with 13 great shots, but the ball simply could not find its way in. I have never seen such close goals as there were in this game. Oxford played well, especially the first half. It took us a while to withstand the pressure, but once we did, we took control of the game and created many scoring opportunities, building from the back to the front. We played great defense led by Michael Bear, Ben Capaldi and Max Ellison. We maintained the width and were able to push the ball forward effectively. We didn’t capitalize on the opponent’s only weakness, however. If you were to split the field across the middle of the goal line, Oxford 's team shifted with the ball as a unit to one half of the field almost all the time. So, rather than switching the point of attack, we followed suit and played right into the pressure and the space (or lack thereof).

Craig Jackson did a fantastic job in the net, saving five scoring opportunities. Twice he punched dangerous shots away from the very top of the net. He was named player of the game by his teammates. Jake shook up the front by being aggressive and physical. Wolf Wintemute outran Oxford's players on several occasions feeding the forwards with some great balls. Tomorrow, we’ll face Whitney in Cerritos at 3:15. We hope to see you there.