Evening Sun Report
TIOGA – Oxford’s field hockey team did not come close to scoring a goal the first 56 1/2 minutes of its Class C sectional game with Tioga. That is, until head coach Missy Nelson made a strategic change.
The Blackhawks registered just two shots on goal, but made them both count to advance past the Tigers 2-1 Thursday. The Blackhawks play at top-seeded Marathon Wednesday.
“It was looking very bleak to me, then all of a sudden, bam, bam, bam,” Nelson said. “It was a shock to me.”
The turnaround started when senior defender Erin Law had to take a seat with five minutes left in regulation after suffering a leg injury. Law sat out a minute of play and was asked an important question by Nelson before taking the field. “Erin has never played anything other than defense, but I told her we needed something different to happen and I asked her if she thought she could play forward for me,” Nelson recalled. “She is a senior and it could be her last game, and she said she could do it.”
Almost immediately after entering the game, Law gained possession of the ball and weaved through several Tioga players sending a pass into the penalty circle. Chantel Crandall redirected the ball to Christi Baker who tied the game at 3:22.
