NOVI >> The Oxford Wildcats made all their penalty kicks and claimed their first ever regional title with a 1-0 (SO) win over the Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks Thursday night.

“It’s a fun town to be a part of,” Wildcats senior Drew Cady said. “Playing for it makes it even better. I love them. I love the town, everybody around here, and especially those boys I’m playing with. I can’t thank them enough. It’s a great feeling.”

Cady, Luca Erskine, Ryan Clark, Ryan Pietsch, and Ronan McDonough each made their penalty kicks and the Wildcats survived the penalty shootout 5-4, with McDonough burying the clincher in round five to set off the celebration for Oxford.

“I was confident walking up to it,” McDonough said. “I’ve taken kicks many times in my life, and I didn’t feel the pressure.”

It was an extremely energetic and cagey encounter as play and possession went back and forth, flowing first one way, then the other as the teams made various adjustments on the fly.

Both teams also had a few good chances to end the game before penalty kicks. In fact, each needed their defense to clear balls off the goal line and both hit a crossbar before the game was finally settled by the penalty kicks.

“That’s one of the things I like about playing Oxford with (head coach) Adam Bican leading the team is that’s it’s more a game of chess,” Shamrocks head coach Gene Pulice said. “And I think it is obvious at times the little tactical details that change the flow of the game.”

Catholic Central’s best opportunity came late in the first half when it made a push towards the end of the opening 40 minutes. The Shamrocks earned a corner kick, which was fired into the box by captain Joe Goudeseune and found its way into the mixer in front of goal. Catholic Central pounced and both the Oxford defense and Wildcat goalie Nolan Mauser had to come up with point-blank stops to keep the game scoreless.

Oxford, on the other hand, nearly won the game in the second overtime when a shot by Anthony Jaboro clipped the underside of the bar, dropped down onto the goal line and was then cleared by the Shamrock defense.

“I thought tonight was a really good game. We both had really quality chances. We both put balls off the frame of the goal. We both attacked hard. I said on Tuesday night that it was going to be a grind, and it was a grind,” Pulice said. “I would also say that Oxford is a great program. Adam Bican is doing this all for the right reason. He is one of the best guys, just as a person that I know, and if it can’t be us, there’s very few guys I can say that I’m really happy for him that he took a good team and was able to achieve a regional championship. Hopefully, he carries it through to a state championship.”

The Wildcats (16-1-5) will now prepare to play in the semifinals for the first time in school history.

“This feels amazing. We’ve never been here before, winning, and looking forward to the next game. That’s all we’re focused on is the next game,” McDonough said.

And the next game for Oxford will be a date with Byron Center in Tuesday’s semifinals at East Lansing High School, the site for a battle of teams who will both be seeking their first-ever appearance in a state championship.

“Obviously, they (Catholic Central) are well coached,” Bican said. “My hat is off to Catholic Central. They had an incredible year. But that game had a lot of ebbs and flows, and in the end I’m just happy for these boys and what they’ve accomplished this year, and they’re not done yet.”

Detroit Catholic Central finishes the year 10-7-3.

“Our guys, from where we started, our leadership carried us through a long season into the postseason, and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Pulice said. “We fought from a long, hard season at the beginning to get here. But I just am so proud of what they’ve done. I wish we would have won, for sure, but these guys had a heck of a season, and I’m thankful for them believing in our leadership as a coaching staff and buying in and working on all the little things that got us here today.”