It was an evening of missed opportunities for the Talawanda boys soccer team and the West Carrollton Pirates when they played Monday in a first-round sectional game at Talawanda.

The Braves capitalized on one opportunity, however, with 23:58 left in the game and held on for a 1-0 win to advance to the second round and a game at Centerville.

That game was scheduled for Thursday night in a rematch of a regular-season game a year ago in which the Braves upset the state-ranked Elks.

“Cardiac Kids,” Talawanda coach Reed Maltbie exclaimed as he walked off the field Monday night.

The lone goal was scored by sophomore Matt Wise, his fourth of the season, to go with three assists, which put him in a tie for 14th place in the Southwest Ohio Conference in scoring this season. The score came on an assist from freshman co-captain Chris Bowen.

“Matt is a sophomore who surprised us this year,” Maltbie said. “There was no doubt from the time we first saw him at camp that he belonged on the varsity, he belonged on the same field. He has gotten, game by game, better and better.”

Talawanda junior keeper co-captain Justin Brown stopped a host of shots and stayed active around the net during several West Carrollton threats, including one late in the first half when West Carrollton had a two-on-one advantage coming down the field toward him and he wrapped up the ball for a save.

Moments later, the Pirates had a great opportunity to get on the board and the ball went wide.

The win Monday put the Braves at 7-9-1 overall, 5-1-1 in the SWOC.

Monday was their fifth game in seven days, starting with a 2-1 win over West Carrollton on Oct. 9, followed by a 1-1 tie with Ross on Thursday and a 5-0 loss at Milford Saturday.

“My focus was on Monday,” Maltbie said. “We rested key players. We used Saturday as an opportunity to get guys moving. Seven starters rested (in the second half).”

The tie with Ross last Thursday gave the Braves a tie for second place in the SWOC with the Rams.

“For three years, Ross kept (our seniors) from a championship or a tie. It was a win for us,” the coach said, praising the work of his seniors this season. “The guys, day in and day out, gave their hearts to this team.”

Senior Jonathan Lukac said the goal was the spark they needed Monday.

“It started the fire,” he said, with fellow senior Stephen Milders adding, “It was tough. The team rallies around a good thing.”

The seniors appreciated the chance to play one more time on their new turf home field despite a record under .500 after playing a brutal regular season schedule which pitted them against some of the top soccer teams in the Cincinnati area.

“It feels great,” Wise said. “We love this field. It’s amazing compared to last year. This was a good conclusion to the season on this field.”