UV/GMU’s Devon Hartwell rebounds the ball, after a previous shot was blocked, and scores. The Storm defeated Oxford 2-0 on Thursday. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

OXFORD – It had been a while since the Unadilla Valley/GMU Storm and the Oxford Blackhawks boys’ soccer teams had faced each. It had been almost a month since the two teams met in the Sherburne-Earlville tournament to kick-off the season.

Thursday’s game showed the same type of competitiveness from the start. UV/GMU earned the 2-0 shutout victory and also earned the sweep of the two-game series.

The Storm showed heat early and ran their way down the field to fire in the first goal of the game. Trevor Smith netted the goal off a pass from Nate Rumovicz within seven minutes of the first half. UV/GMU held their 1-0 lead at halftime.

Both teams played a pressure defense and the score remained the same until eight minutes left in regulation. The Storm received a free penalty kick, taken by Devon Hartwell. Devon got a great shot on the kick that Oxford’s Kayden Renfrow handled, but Devon was able to rebound the ball and have the final say.

UV/GMU’s Latham Retz and Haywood Edwards brought strength to the defense with Tucker Cattanach strong in net.

Despite the loss, the Oxford Blackhawks showed strength offensively with great passing strategies, but could not connect deep to create scoring opportunities. Senior Jerry Hornbeck saw some great touches, along with Donovan Rickard and Sam Hendricks, throughout the contest.

UV/GMU (2-5-2) travels to Bainbridge-Guilford on Monday at 4:30 p.m. while Oxford hosts Greene Saturday at 1 p.m.

Results:

UV/G 2- OXF 0

Goals:

UV/G: Trevor Smith, Devon Hartwell

Assists: