Oak Hall Takes Back District Boys Soccer Trophy From Bell

By Amanda Roman and Cati Stoehr

The Oak Hall boys soccer team defeated Bell, 2-0, in the 2A-District 2 title match Wednesday.

The Eagles (13-0-1), who were knocked down by Bell, 2-1, in last year’s district championship match, advance to Tuesday’s state region quarterfinal as the top seed and will host eight seed Tallahassee Community Christian (7-5-1) at 6 p.m.

Bell (10-4), the fourth seed, will host five seed Land O’ Lakes Academy at the Lakes (11-4-1) in the other quarterfinal Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Tuesday’s winners advance to the regional semifinal Friday.

High Intensity

The Eagles came out with an aggressive offense, having multiple shots on goal within the first 15 minutes of the match.

Oak Hall even had an opportunity to score at 21:15 with a penalty kick. Despite this missed chance, the Eagles continued to pounce offensively. Thomas Cummings led the offense, making many plays at the goal to keep the Eagles attacking.

“Thomas Cummings is very tactical in terms of finishing, great at not stressing out in high-pressure situations,” Oak Hall coach Andy Westfall said

The Eagles ended the half with an amazing one-touch shot from Emory Ezzell, putting them ahead 1-0.

The Oak Hall Eagles are up 1-0 in their district finals game at halftime.

Captain Emory Ezzell #5 scored outside the 18-yard box. #OakHall #VarsityBoysSoccer #BellHighSchool #DistrictFinals pic.twitter.com/GHaniSi2e9

— Cati (@catiisto) January 31, 2024

Adapting Their Play

The Eagles entered the second half with a more defensive mindset. Westfall said he felt the team was struggling on 50-50 balls in the center of the field. He decided to “put pace out on the wings, and work it up the sidelines to get crosses in and try to counterattack.”

Keeper Chase Angerhofer-Robinson kept the Eagles ahead with multiple consecutive saves.

Bringing Home The Trophy

“Gibson’s ability to see through-balls, to see crosses [and] passes … he consistently reads space well and sees players,” Westfall said.

Thomas Gibson made a perfect pass to Cummings, who then played it off to Andrew Jimenez, who tapped it into the goal, putting the Eagles ahead 2-0.

The score gave the Eagles confidence and solidified their lead. The momentum was at an all-time high, and they began dominating the game on both ends.

Oak Hall’s “intensity from start to finish” allowed it to stay in control of the game, Westfall said.

Moving to Regionals

Westfall said he feels the Eagles are in a good position for the next game and that they can “compete with anybody in the region.”

The Oak Hall Eagles will move into regionals next week after their win tonight against the Bell Bulldogs.

Final score was 2-0. #OakHall #VarsityBoysSoccer #BellHighSchool #DistrictFinals pic.twitter.com/4K48GWEetX

— Cati (@catiisto) February 1, 2024