Oxford’s girls’ soccer team has never had a winning season. Even if it wins every possible remaining game in the playoffs this year, the best it could hope for is a .500 campaign. Nonetheless, the Blackhawks are one of two teams remaining in the Class C tournament with an opportunity to win a sectional title and move on to the state playoffs.

It’s a development that is so unlikely, senior captain Felicia Tynan would have laughed off that mere suggestion two weeks ago. And yet, that pipedream is now a reality, thanks to collective determination and an unwillingness to concede an iota to so-called superior opposition. “I always knew we had the potential to beat every team we played,” Tynan said Wednesday night. “It was just a matter of putting things together.”

As far as putting things together, several pieces were missing all season long. The Blackhawks won back-to-back games in September including a first-round win in their own tournament. Those were the last – and only – wins the team had in September, and Oxford didn’t win again until two weeks ago. And the winning has continued with five straight victories and six out of seven games. “Honestly, I think the girls have learned that they are capable,” said sixth-year Oxford coach Kathleen Cragle. “Even if the team is beating you to the ball and outplaying you, at any give moment (in soccer), you could make the right play and turn the tide.”