NORTH EASTON, Mass. – Although Oliver Ames is a relatively experienced team, it has been two years since the Tigers have played in the postseason (aside from last fall’s Hock Cup). So, a few nerves at the beginning of Saturday night’s Div. 2 tournament opener at Muscato Stadium could be expected.
The Tigers didn’t allow the nervous energy to overwhelm them and midway through the first half got a fortuitous bounce to take the lead. OA settled down and started playing like the No. 2 seed, controlling the play and not allowing a shot on target in a comfortable 4-0 win over No. 31 seed North Middlesex.
“I told them, this is the best team that I’ve had in a long time but if you don’t believe in yourself and you don’t have confidence it’s just not going to work,” OA coach Britt Sellmayer said after the game. “I spoke for about 60 seconds at halftime and said it’s either you or them and they got together and figured it out and played better in the second half.”
While things were a little shaky at the start, with passes being sprayed out of bounds or hoofed up front to no one in particular, the Tigers were still the team creating chances. In the sixth minute, Kyla Melton stole the ball in midfield and sent Alexa Lane free down the right. Her cross went straight through the box to Lauren Sellmayer on the opposite wing. She settled it and sent in a cross of her own that Katie Gibson put wide.
Eleven minutes later, Camryn O’Connor had her first look of the night, sending a low, speculative shot from the right corner of the box towards the back post. The North Middlesex goalie could only watch as it sailed past her and hit the woodwork. Katie and Carly Gibson both attacked the rebound but neither was able to turn it goalward.
At the midpoint of the first half, OA got the breakthrough goal. There was a big of fortune to the score, as Katie Gibson hit a ball in from the right side of the box that appeared to take an early deflection. It landed in the six-yard box and the bounce eluded the keeper to find the back of the net.
The goal eased some of the pressure and OA started to get into its usual patterns of play. The left side was particularly dangerous, as Sellmayer combined well with forward Lucinda Li Cotter, who was proving to be a handful whether heading to the end line or cutting back inside.
Cotter played a nice ball into the run of Sellmayer down the left touchline and the senior crossed to the back post where Gibson brought it down, but her shot hit the woodwork and stayed out.
With seven minutes to go before halftime, OA doubled its advantage. There was no luck involved this time. Gibson played a perfect through ball into the path of O’Connor and the Boston University-commit made no mistake when clean through on goal. She fired a shot past the onrushing keeper to make it 2-0.
Even while the passing was a little out of control at the start, the OA defense of Sophia Byron, Allison Evin, Mary Cross, and Taylor deVos were stifling the Patriots attack. The Tigers didn’t allow a shot on target until late in the match and starting keeper Emily Meyers was largely a spectator.
“I sit there and complain that they weren’t connecting their passes but they weren’t giving anything up either,” Sellmayer said. “That team has a couple good forwards. I yelled at my backs for not passing but they played great defense.”
In addition, Melton was doing a solid job of protecting the defense. The Milton Academy transfer has settled in nicely in her role in the heart of the midfield.
Sellmayer explained, “It’s been revelation for our team because (Kyla) started at the back and we just needed a little more push in the midfield. She wins a lot of 50-50 balls, settles things down for us, and take a lot of pressure off Cam when we can push her up top.”
Six minutes after the break, OA tacked on a third. O’Connor fired in a free kick from the left. The ball hit a crowd of bodies in front of goal and landed at the foot of Lane. She didn’t try to take an extra touch but instead lashed in a left-footed strike that effectively sealed the win.
The chances kept coming from the hosts. Gibson’s corner was headed over by Sellmayer, a Cotter cross was hit over the bar on the half-volley by Gibson, and O’Connor’s cross from the left found Carly Gibson in the box but again it was headed wide.
In the 62nd minute, the Tigers wrapped up the scoring. A corner was swung in from the left and caused a scrum in front of goal. Sellmayer had one attempt blocked and then the ball ended up in a host of swinging legs. Eventually the ball was bundled over the line by Cross in a sequence that resembled an offensive line trying to push a running back into the end zone.
At the end of a cold night, it was a comfortable win for Oliver Ames (14-1-2), which advances to the Round of 16 and will host No. 15 Westwood on Tuesday.
“We’re good. We can play a lot better than we did in the first half,” Sellmayer said. “Got one [win] under our belt, got Westwood next, and maybe we can play better for 80 minutes.”
