VENANGO COUNTY, Pa. – The Oil Region Soccer teams were in action recently. Here is a look at how they did.

(Photo: The Delta Force ’05 team photo. Photo courtesy of Oil Region Soccer Facebook)

Whitling U11 tied Clarion Green U11 2-2.

The Clarion team started off strong taking a 2-0 lead. The Young ORSA team didn’t give up, as Caylee Henderson found the back of the goal to make it 2-1 at halftime.

At the start of the second half, ORSA strung together four great passes from their end of the field to a waiting Kendall Doty who blasted a goal to tie the game.

It appeared that ORSA had taken a 3-2 lead when first-year player Brea Eakin came close to scoring but the ball was ruled to have not crossed the line.

Chum Whitling had a great game in goal and on the field. Also helping in goal for the draw was Austin Kritikos.

U11 Fleming lost 6-3 to Greenville U10 coed.

ORSA matched up age wise again this team, and Nadia Morrison scored a pair of goals while Jacob Fleming netted his first ORSA goal.

Luka Johnson hung tough in goal for the game. LJ Mansaray and Landen Brundage came up big on defense, and Braysen Bean and Josiah Mansaray had quite a few shots on goal.

“Overall we made great improvement today,” Coach Fleming said. “There was lots of passing and showing more understanding of the game.”

The ORSA U-20 boys’ team finished their season on the road at Grove City coming away with a 1-0 win to complete their near-perfect season with a 7-0-1 record.

The game began with ORSA on the front foot and having multiple chances that were fought off by the Grove City defense. Eventually, Zach Taylor headed home the game’s only goal on a beautiful throw in from brother Adam.

Grove City raised its intensity in response and its best player managed to create all three of the team’s chances in the game. ORSA continued to push and Jake Eshelman and Tyler Wood both missed just high in the second half. In the end, ORSA locked in the win with stout defensive play led by Keegan Hoover and Greg Fackler. Johnathan Leccia managed the shutout in net.

U-20 Ladies lost 5-0 away to Grove City on Sunday.

The score, although lopsided did not tell the whole story.

The Force played short-handed, missing several key players. Coach Dye made adjustments on the fly and the ladies battled from the kick off to the final whistle.

Midfielder Hailey Jane Byers helped to control the midfield the forwards keep constant pressure on the Grove City defenders but just could not find the back of the net. Lauren Womer, Emma Pfenningwerth, Carly Calderone Led the Force attack. The defense was anchored by Riley Phipps.

Delta Force ’05 had busy weekend playing away at North Allegheny on Saturday and at Penn-Trafford on Sunday.

Playing matches on back to back days, in warmer temperatures than accustom, and missing multiple players hampered the team, as it finished the weekend with a tie and a loss. This marked the first time in five seasons the team has gone two matches in a row without a win.

Saturday started out with the Force dominating the match.

The Delta’s took a 2-0 lead on goals from Nathan Pfennigwerth and new boy Cade Coldiron. The goals were set up by Quinn Ritchey and Spencer Riley respectively. The locals controlled the position and the tempo of the match but this was a tale of two halves.

The second half was a barrage of mistakes, mainly by the Coach. Oil Region came out very flat, as if the match was over, played the first 12 minutes of the half with only 10 players on the field and gave away the first goal. The Force had chances to score but was unable to convert. With less than three minutes to play, it seemed as if they had done enough to hold on for the win but a foul around the penalty area was called and NA score to tie the match. The Force pushed for the winner but time had run out. The matched ended in a 2-2 draw.

On Sunday the road-weary Oil Region team faced a stronger team and had fewer players available. As the match kicked off the Force quickly realized they were in for a fight. Penn-Trafford, a fast and physical side, took an early two-goal lead. They continued to press for a third until the 24th minute when a loose ball was put in the goal by Dray Dill. The Force hunting for the tying goal disrupted the PT flow.
ORSA Keeper Quinn Ritchey punted the ball about 65 yards to an on-rushing Nathan Pfenningwerth, who ripped it past the PT Keeper to tie the match.

The second half was a good ebb and flow with neither team finding a goal for a long stretch. But in the 55th minute, Penn-Trafford was awarded a penalty kick, in which they converted to bring the score to 3-2. This took the wind out of ORSA’s sails. It continued to work hard but, being tired and roughed up the defense got stretched and we gave up a late goal to make it 4-2.

The Delta Force finished the season with a record of 6-2-1, and in third place in their league.