Turner, Oakland defense steps it up en route to region soccer title

When it counts the most, the Oakland soccer team has taken its defense to another level.

So has sophomore keeper Sophie Turner.

"Defensively, I'm really pleased," said Oakland coach Jeff Boynton, whose squad captured the Region 4-AAA title with a 2-0 win over rival Siegel Thursday evening. "We've got a lot of attacking players, but they've stayed disciplined and focused in the back one-third.

"Our defense gets overlooked."

The win puts Oakland (12-4-1) at home in Saturday's Class AAA Sectional against Walker Valley. Siegel (13-4-3) will be at Cookeville. Sectional winners advance to next week's state tournament at Siegel Park. Losers are eliminated.

Turner and the Lady Patriot defense posted their second consecutive shutout in region play (including a 3-0 win over Lincoln County in Tuesday's semifinals).

That came after falling 2-1 to the Lady Stars in the 7-AAA championship match.

"I haven't made silly mistakes (in region play) and have trusted myself," said Turner.

Turner has had seven clean sheets this season. It's the first shutout over Siegel in four tries.

"Sophie has come a long way," Boynton said. "She's our most improved player this year."

Added Oakland senior center-back Katie Webb, "She has stepped it up. She's been working hard."

Webb and Co. put in a little extra work after the district finals loss to Siegel.

"We've been working on our defensive shape," Webb said. "We've worked our butts off, watching film and correcting mistakes."

While the Oakland defense was getting the job done, the Lady Patriots got all the offense it needed early when Faith Adams found the right post on a goal in the eighth minute.

The Lady Patriots tacked on an insurance goal in the 60th minute when Monica Mullaney found the back of the net.

"When we lost in the district finals, it's because we dropped the second half," Turner said. "That was something we had to fix."

Added Webb, "Everybody has pushed hard since then, and it's paid off."

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter@Cecil_Joyce.