The young players on the Oakville women's soccer team weren't about to let their season slip away after finishing 5-6 on April 15th.
Since then, the Tigers are 8-2 in their last 10 games and 13-8 this season. In addition, the team won its second straight championship against Union in the Blue Cat Cup Tournament in April.
For head coach Sarah Gunter, winning back-to-back tournaments is a special milestone.
“Winning this title in a row was the highlight of my coaching career,” Gunter said. “Last year we lost 12 great seniors, but basically this year's team is completely different. It's just new, in a bad way and in a good way.” A lot of our team is varsity Finding our identity was our main focus this season, as we had never played at the level and our veterans had never played with rookies before. ”
Gunther said the team is fully aware that their performance at this tournament could have a huge impact on the season.
“Coming into this tournament, I knew this season would be a turning point,” Gunter said. “We experienced some tough competition early in the season and played one of the toughest schedules in the region. The team has been great so far, but we've really lacked consistency. This is the hallmark of a veteran team and therefore marks the end of us.”
Heading into the tournament, the Tigers focused on playing tenacious and competitive soccer from the start to the end of the game.
“Last week, we had a mission heading into this tournament: to play consistent football from whistle to whistle and leave everything on the field, no matter who the opponent is,” Gunther said. Ta. “Well, we just did it. So this championship title means the world to me and to our program.”
After a 3-2 loss to Illinois' regular rival, the Columbia Eagles, the Tigers didn't dwell on the loss, instead taking a lot of confidence from the game.
“Columbia is a great team and has a great coach and atmosphere. I think they're very similar to Union and their community,” Gunter said. “They have great leadership and some very good athletes. I actually took the loss we lost against Colombia to prepare the team for the match against Union. The week before the tournament. It hurt to lose so badly to Colombia, but I always tell my daughters, “You learn more from losing than from winning.'' It worked and my confidence grew. ”
Oakville used that confidence to defeat Lindbergh 1-0 on April 18th and then demolished Poplar Bluff 9-1 on April 19th. Ashley Forbes scored three goals in a big win against the Mules. Oakville's next game was the tournament opener against St. Francis Borgia. The Tigers scored again and defeated the Knights 8-0. Forbes added another hat trick in the win. Aubrey Pickle added two goals, and Regan Kemp, Avery Nixon and Alivia Schnur each scored in first-round games.
The Tigers' next opponent was Washington. Oakville defeated Washington 2-0 with goals from Forbes and Schnurr, and the Tigers advanced to the finals.
The Tigers faced a difficult task as the Union Wildcats finished with a 10-1 record and advanced to the finals for the first time since 2021. Union defeated Pacific (11-3) 3-0 to advance to the final.
The Tigers were unfazed by the challenge and won 2-1. Hazel Blumenkemper opened the scoring for Oakville just before the end of the first half, but Union quickly hit back and the score was 1-1 at halftime.
Schnurr scored at the 29:15 mark of the second half to give Oakville the lead.
The Tigers were able to defend the rest of the game and secure the victory.