By Sean O’Brien
This past Friday afternoon the Oliver Ames boys soccer team captured the Hockomock league title in a 0-0 tie against the Mansfield Hornets. The game kicked off at 3:45 and the first half was extremely slow, but the boys knew the importance of the game. With either a win or a tie OA would secure the Hock title. However late in the first half one of OA’s big time senior players, Brandin Osborne, went down with a non-contact injury. He was down for a few minutes holding his left hip and had to be carted off the field and eventually to the trainer’s room. His injury was crucial as it seemed as though it would not be OA’s day. Thankfully, he was able to make it back to the bench half way through the second half and he seemed okay. The entire first half was back and forth with both teams only getting limited shots on net. The half concluded at 0-0.
The beginning of the second half went the same way as the first. At about midway through the second half Mansfield made a great pass and one of their players came sliding in with an open net but fortunately he missed. The Tigers had surely dodged a bullet. After this, the intensity started to rise and the game started to get physical as many whistles were blown, yet no cards. With under twelve minutes to play, Mansfield had a vital corner kick which looked really good until Oliver Ames’s keeper Jack Carroll made an impeccable save. For the last final minutes the Tigers were on the attack pressing very hard on Mansfield’s defense. This offense was led by captain Nathaniel Cardoza and Matt Alvarado. Although there were no goals Oliver Ames was able to maintain the score at 0-0 and secure the league title. The defense was anchored very well by Cam Vella and captain Chris Lawrence. The end of the regular season concluded with the Tigers on top and the Hornets in second. The boys hope to make a strong push in the postseason coming up in the next few weeks, as they will find out their seedings soon. Stay tuned in to the boys hopeful postseason and support them as they hope to grab a championship!