Sports by: Bret Bussinger
On may 8th, the girls soccer team took on our schools biggest rival – the Staley Flacons. After their first meeting, which ended in an upset, they were looking for a win against the first place team in conference,
“It really made us mad that they picked to play us on their senior night,” said senior Kelli Reichert, “It was an insult to our team.” For those of you who don’t know, teams generally play a team that is a “for sure” win. “That mixed with them being our rivals really made us want to play hard.” Play hard they did, the score at half time was a 0-0 tie.
“I’ve never seen them play as aggressive or physical before,” senior Drew Bridges said. “They were dishing out as much, if not more, than they were taking.” The game remained physical for the whole second half. “Only a few students showed up, but it was fun all the same, it was a great game to watch,” bridges said.
The game drove into over time, and soon Oak Park had a corner mid way through. Alli O’Keefe took the corner and placed the ball amidst the gathering crowd in front of the goal. “No one is quite sure who scored, but all we knew was the ball was in the goal and the game was over,” said senior Annie Neds. The team then celebrated running together in a cheer.
After the conclusion of the game Neds proceeded to take a picture of the game-winning ball, left sitting in the goal at the District Athletics Complex. The Lady Oakies not only upset their biggest rivals senior night, but also gave them their first lose in their conference.