Oxford soccer sweeps games in Charger Invitational
Published 8:28 am Monday, November 13, 2017
After two tough losses to begin the season in Clinton the Oxford girl’s soccer team rebounded in a big way during the Charger Invitational at FNC Park this weekend.
The Chargers swept their games, defeating Olive Branch, West Jones and Amory by a combined score of 15-4.
They dominated with a depleted roster as they were without standout sophomore Morgan O’Connor — who participated in a showcase tournament in Arizona — Nicole Wilkin and Maria Jones.
Wilkin is out for the year after suffering a torn ACL.
Ally Shinall played for a handful of minutes on Friday. Senior Addison Mills and and Grace Joyce played injured all weekend in limited minutes.
“It was great to see my young ones get an opportunity and have to fight through not having their leaders on the field,” Oxford head coach Hunter Crane said. “It was uncomfortable for them at times but they are a very talented group.”
Oxford (3-2) kicked off the tournament with a 4-0 win over Olive Branch on Friday evening. They then followed that up with a 5-2 win over West Jones and a 6-2 win over Amory.
“Olive Branch win was a good win for us,” Crane said. “We stressed all week the importance of our possession and movement off the ball. …West Jones was a game that we had circled on the weekend. 5A team from the south that we haven’t ever seen before.”
Boys stay perfect
It was a solid weekend for the Oxford boy’s team as they swept their slate of games as well. Wins over Hernando (3-2), West Jones (3-0) and Olive Branch (9-0) kept Oxford undefeated on the season at 5-0.
The West Jones contest was a rematch of last season’s Class 5A state championship match in February.
Commodores fare well
Both Lafayette teams competed in the tournament and finished with a combined 3-1 record.
The Lady Commodores defeated Ripley 11-1 and Itawamba 8-0.
The boys team felt to West Jones 2-1 and defeated Ripley 4-1.