Sep. 22—AUBURN — The Oxford Hills girls soccer team couldn’t get into the rhythm coach Brittany Moore wanted but still battled through for a 1-0 victory over Edward Little on Tuesday.
“Even putting that (goal) in, a lot of us were asleep,” Moore said. “Sometimes it takes the first five minutes to get in a rhythm, and it went past the first five minutes. Luckily we didn’t get punished for it. The girls did those make-or-break moments right, and they tried to keep us together. (They) tried to bring the energy up in the second half.”
The Red Eddies (2-4) put some offensive pressure on the Vikings early in the first half, and fired three shots on goal in the half.
Edward Little coach Miles Bisher said that he wanted to see a fast start to Tuesday’s game.
“We talked about that in the pregame and yesterday in practice, to dictate the tempo and play our style,” Bisher said. “(Oxford Hills) is a team that likes to play run-and-gun, get balls (up in the air) and play direct.”
Oxford Hills (3-3) started to create offensive chances 20 minutes into the half. On its second corner of the game, the ball was loose in the box and Vikings sophomore Meredith Harthorne controlled it and booted a shot past Vikings keeper Hailee Brown in the 25th minute.
“The first 20 minutes, we weren’t coming out that strong,” Harthorne said. “We settled down and made more quick passes.”
Ashley Richardson assisted on the goal.
Brown (five saves) made a diving save in the 10th minute of the second half and another on a shot by Richardson halfway through the second to keep Edward Little within one goal.
“(Brown) has been great all season for us,” Bisher said. “She’s aggressive, she will come out and challenge when she needs to. She’s good with her feet, if her teammates play the ball back to her.”
Edward Little had its best offensive opportunity in the 27th minute of the second half when freshman Gabby Gerry ran down the sideline to chase the ball. She beat a defender and fired the ball into the box, but her shot was stopped by Oxford Hills goalie Madelyn Herrick.
“(Gerry) got the (ball) down the line in the corner and she gave a really good service in,” Bisher said. “Breya Whitman, her teammate did a good job being Johnny-on-the-spot where the cross was. Credit to the keeper, she did a good job coming out and handling it. Breya was there if there was a cleanup opportunity. Again, we are creating opportunities, it’s just a matter of finishing them and putting a bow on them.”
Gerry had another opportunity with under 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Moore lauded Herrick’s (four saves) performance in goal for the Vikings.
“Maddy Herrick and I talked about whatever decision (she) make, go with it,” Moore said. “… Once you have made a choice, go for it, and luckily she kept that in mind. Once she decides to go out and play, tackle as a regular defender she has kept us (in games this season).”