The Oak Glen girls’ soccer team has one more game ahead to determine if they go to state final 4 tournament. They take on Fairmont Senior tomorrow night, Thursday October 27th, in the battle of the bears. The Oak Glen Golden Bears will take on the Fairmont Senior Polar Bears. Game time is scheduled for 5:00pm at Oak Glen stadium.
These girls have a tremendous run going on this season with a record of 20-0-2. That is not a small accomplishment by any means. Scoring a team total of 135 goals on the season. This shows the offense is clicking on all cylinders. The national average for goals scored this season is a mere 43 compared to what the Golden bears have done thus far. They even top 500 shots on goal this year compared to the national average of 146. A few standouts for the Golden Bears are junior Kami Ward with 55 goals, senior Camden Barr with 30 goals, and freshman Aaliyah Siegel with 24 goals.
“Kami Ward has had one of the best seasons in Oak Glen School history. She is sitting at 55 Goals and 28 Assists this year with 22 Games played. She has always been a dynamic scorer, but now she has added the ability to set-up other players for success. The combination of her unselfishness, the growth of Carson Barr (30 Goals), and the additional of Aaliyah Siegel (22 Goals) made us the highest scoring team in the State of West Virginia. Our Team Goals of 135 in 2022 is a single season record for Oak Glen.” Coach Watts
You cannot get numbers like that with offense alone. Giving up a minuscule 11 goals on the season speaks to the great goaltending by senior Alexis Greenlief, and strong defensive play.
“Alexus Greenlief is the best Goal Keeper in the State of West Virginia! Her leadership and dependability have been someone we Coaches have leaned on throughout the season. She now has 12 Shutouts and has only allowed 11 Goals over the course of 21 Games this season. Having a Goalie play at that high of a level over the course of an entire season is remarkable.” Coach Watts
Even more impressive is 13 of the 20 victories this year have come via shutouts. With that kind of production on the back end it gives the team more chances to put the ball in the net at the other end.
Coach Watts echoes that “Team Defense has been instrumental to our overall success in 2022. Riley Bruce, Aubrey Stoica, and Molly Szpyrka hold down the back line with support from our 2 outstanding Defensive Midfielders (Sydney Brown/Macy Hartung). As a team, we have only allowed 11 Goals over the course of 22 Games. These 5 do not get enough credit for everything they do. We would not be where we are without our Teams commitment to Team Defense!”
As for the Polar Bears, they come into tomorrow night’s matchup with a record of 12-5-4. Scoring 86 goals on the season and only giving up a total of 18 against. Leading the way for the Polar Bears are Freshmen standout Tillie Cinalli with 23 goals and senior Adaline Cinalli with 16 goals on the year.
This will not be the first time these two powers have faced each other this season. Early this month the two have met with the Golden Bears edging out a 2-1 victory over the Polar Bears. Goal scorers in the previous match up were Kami Ward from Oak Glen with 2 goals and Adaline Cinalli from Fairmont with the lone goal for the Polar Bears. This match up should be another great game to watch.
Riding an 18-game winning streak the Oak Glen girls look to continue to build on the success they have already enjoyed this season with already winning the OVAC tournament. That game was decided by a shootout against the Weir Red Riders. That just happens to be the Oak Glen’s sixth straight OVAC title.
Success has been a way of life for the Golden Bear Girls’ Soccer team for some time now with a record of 89-14-7 over the past 5 seasons. However, every year is different and it speaks to the commitment of both the players and staff.
“Our Coaching Staff could not be prouder of this year’s Team! Between last year’s graduates and this year’s injuries, we had to replace 7 Starters from last year’s Regional Championship Team. Our Team success is a direct result of the commitment these ladies made to playing as a Team this year. They deserve all the recognition they get!” Coach Watts
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