Being somewhat of a small school the Oxford boys soccer team had been struggling with numbers - losing athletes to area vocational and private schools -and with that came rough seasons. Recently the team seems to have righted the ship as the Pirates have been able to capture three of the last four Southern Worcester Country League (SWCL) Championships. 

While Oxford has been on the cheerful side of the win column, things could change with league revamps and that may disrupt the Pirates success. Oxford went 11-6-1 last fall qualifying for the Division 4 State Tournament where they took out Bellingham 1-0 in the first round, but then ran into Cohasset, the number one seed, and eventual State Champion. 

Success in the SWCL is about to shift as the Central Mass. leagues are all being switched around – Oxford will be moving into the Central Massachusetts Athletic Conference (CMAC) this fall with teams like Quaboag, Burncoat, Monty Tech and Abbey Kelley.

“Everything is going to be all new,” said Oxford coach Paul Frykberg. “A new league and new schools that we are not familiar with at all.”

The Pirates graduated five seniors who were part of the original team that created successful changes within the program. They were talented soccer players who stuck it out during the rough times and made the program what it is today.

Last fall, Oxford fielded 24 athletes about half of whom were freshman, giving Frykberg group of athletes that pushed and motivated one another to be better. And while that team was star driven with a number of top players this year’s squad is going to be totally different.

“We are returning 16 or 17 players from last year’s team and it is going to be nice having players who understand the system, while bringing experience to the field,” Frykberg said. 

One of the leaders this fall will be senior keeper Sam Paradise, who has been playing with the squad since the eighth grade. The now-senior took over the goalie role fully as a sophomore and hasn’t looked back since. According to the coach, he is a solid keeper who has not only grown physically, but defensively as well. 

In front of Paradise, Frykberg will field a solid defensive group led by sophomores Charlie Paul and Kaiden Labay. Both athletes started last year playing outside back as freshmen. Although their talent will once again be on the back line, Frykberg is unsure of what he will have in terms of athletes back there this year until after the tryouts so he may be forced to move things around.  

Another sophomore will be center mid / attack and playmaker Wyatt McQuillan. Last season, the freshman was very poised and patient with the ball. 

“Wyatt is a very skilled player that brings a laid-back approach to the game, but is very confident in his passes,” the Pirate Coach said. “He’ll be our set-up guy but it will be interesting to see where we actually getting our goal scoring from this year.”

Nate Davis had 27 goals for Oxford last fall. Chase Paul and Huck McQuillan will patrol the midfield and look to help out with the offense.

Frykberg believes that he has set the tone with the young underclassmen over the last few years. They will enter the new season with an understanding of what the team needs to do to become successful and get to the next level. However, playing in the CMAC will bring a whole new outlook on what it takes to cross that threshold. 

“It will be interesting and I am really not sure what is going to happen this year,” the Oxford coach said. “I do know that we are coming into the season looking to win the league and get ourselves back into the tournament.”

Over the years, the Pirates have been able to qualify for the Division 4 State Tournament; unfortunately they have not been able to make it past the second round and that will be part of their outlook for the upcoming season. 

“It will be a lofty goal, but it will give us something to push for,” Frykberg said. “This team will have the potential of accomplishing that goal, it all depends on how our regular season goes in the new league.”

Although playing in a new league, Oxford just has to play its game while keeping its opponents close and with the power rankings should once again be able to punch themselves a ticket to the post-season.