Right from the start of the first half, Oxford’s girls were strong and determined to win. It soon became evident that Ontario Christian was also a strong team, promising a challenging game. Within the first three minutes, Sophomore Alex Moctezuma took the first free kick due to a handball by the opposing team. The ball unfortunately came back to defender and Freshmen Katie Ha who kicked the ball up the sideline to Senior Lani Ancheta, resulting in Oxford’s first offensive attack. After six minutes of intense play on Ontario’s side of the field, the ball bounced out leading to a corner kick. The play continued, with a few more offensive attacks on Oxford’s side of the field, before coming back to the defense. Ontario’s first attempt at a goal failed and a few minutes later, Sophomore Alyssa Ancheta made a great defensive play and passed the ball back up the sideline. After more clean passes and good plays, the Lady Patriots had a close shot on goal that unfortunately did not go in. The other team also had a close shot on goal, but Junior Heather Bermudez, goalie, dove for it and tapped it away from goal. Later in the half, Sophomore Erica Rios received a pass from Junior Amanda Simpson, chipping it over an opposing player’s head to execute a well communicated give and go. This exemplified how well Oxford’s team communicated on the field, helping them with their offensive and defensive tactics. Sophomore Karina Carpio got knocked over a few minutes later, resulting in a free kick for Oxford and more shots on goal. Another close shot by Oxford came off a corner kick by Junior Cynthia Washiko, where Senior Sara Ha jumped in the air and headed it toward the goal. The goalie deflected it out of the box but Oxford was not demoralized and continued leading offensively. Later Junior Arit Akpan blocked a shot followed by another blocked shot by Sophomore Alex Moctezuma. Her strong defensive presence kept the other team from attacking and challenging the Bermudez in goal. When the team got close, however, Sophomore Alex Moctezuma slide tackled a girl, demonstrating her determination to prevent any goals scored against. More fouls occurred toward the end of the first half, ending with Simpson fighting for the ball in front of Ontario’s goal.

After halftime, the refreshing break made the Lady Patriots still stronger than the last half. The first off-sides call against Ontario stopped an attack and the referee, despite his lack of fair calls in the first half, allowed a free kick from our box when one of the defenders was pushed over by an Ontario player. It became obvious as the game progressed that Ontario Christian was becoming more aggressive when Junior Arit Akpan was knocked over while attempting to defend a play. But the team was not about to be pushed around and only fought back harder. Simpson almost had a breakaway up the middle of the field, but the opposing sweeper got in her way. Rios tripped a girl, giving them a free kick while Sophomore Alyssa Ancheta made another great defensive play and reduced their attempts to nothing. Each player continued to help each other out, demonstrating great teamwork and support. Senior Lani Ancheta led another offensive attack with a breakaway up the sideline, beating the defender and forcing the opposing sweeper to kick the ball out, leading to a throw in. Off yet another foul on Ontario’s part, Sophomore Alex Moctezuma took a free kick that hit the crossbar and bounced out. Despite the strength and endurance of the Lady Patriots, Ontario Christian still managed to get in a lucky goal, putting the score at 0-1. But the team was definitely not ready to give up; Coach Henry rearranged his players on the field, moving some defenders up and dropping midfielders back in the hopes of creating a stronger offense. In one of the closest attacks of the game, Lani Ancheta stormed the opposite goal, with the sweeper right behind her, and right when she was about to get a shot off, the goalie caught it and the opposing player shoved her to the ground. The sidelines erupted in shouts at the referee and calls for a penalty kick; although the right call was not given, Oxford still received an indirect kick. Moctezuma took it, but because it was indirect, one other person no matter the team had to touch it before it went in the goal. The ball ended up making it in the net anyway and because no one had touched it the goal was not counted. Moctezuma wasn’t giving up though and in a close fight on the sideline, she held off another player while simultaneously performing a bicycle kick that created another offensive attack. Carpio was knocked over again, giving Oxford another advantageous free kick. Moctezuma threw the ball into the box and Ancheta headed it toward the goal; unfortunately the ball went too high and over the crossbar. Ontario tried another shot on goal, but Bermudez blocked it from going in. The game ended with Simpson’s last shot on goal.

Even though the game didn’t result in a win, Oxford’s Girls Varsity team fought to the finish and played a strong last game of the season. Making it to CIF was an accomplishment in itself and the team definitely earned it for all their hard work and effort. Overall, the game was a great way to end a brilliantly played season.