The Oxford Lady Chargers soccer season has come to a close. After two periods of extra time and almost two golden goals the Lady Chargers fell to Madison Central 3-2 in the first round of playoffs. The team finished the season with a record of 15-7-1.

“6A was a lot more physical,” head coach Hunter Crane said. “They played a ball that we normally pick up pretty easily, and we just missed it tonight. We were one of the top three teams in the state and we just caught a bad break.”

This will mark the last game in the high school careers of the six seniors playing for the Lady Chargers. Grace Joyce, Ally Shinall, Nicole Wilkin, and Addison Mills led a senior class that won two state championships.

“It’s really sad,” senior forward Ally Shinall said. “I thought we really gave it our all and I will be proud of the girls no matter what, I just wish it could have ended a different way.”

Oxford allowed the game winning goal with just under two minutes remaining in the second period of golden goal. Junior forward Sarah Martin Meyers of Madison Central hit the game winning shot for the Jaguars.

“We got lost in the midfield,” senior forward Grace Joyce said. “They had to get through all of us in order to get to Anna Kate and it was just an unlucky bounce.”

The Lady Chargers were able to jump out to a 1-0 lead in the first half courtesy of a goal from Ally Shinall. Oxford would carry that lead into halftime before allowing the Jaguars to tie the score later in the first half.

“It was really intense,” Shinall said. “We started great and I am just really upset that it ended the way it did.”

Next season, the Lady Chargers will return three of their top five leading goal scorers from this season. Oxford also placed multiple eighth grade players into action this season.

“We have a lot of young girls that we are really excited about,” Crane said. “It is going to really hard to replace the seniors. They have been the heart and soul of this team but we are excited for the youth that we have.”

The senior class will leave having won two state titles. They hope to have had a long lasting impact on the younger girls that will grow into their roles.

“They just have to keep working hard,” Joyce said. “Obviously this isn’t the way that we wanted to go out but if they continue what they are doing they can go far.”