OxfordPress.com

The Talawanda High School boys' soccer program is entering its first year in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference with a lot of optimism.

Ranked eighth in Cincinnati Division II at the end of the preseason, Talawanda hopes to raise their profile even more after the starting the season 2-0-0, including a key win against Oak Hills last Saturday.

The Braves started their inaugural FAVC-Scarlet season hot, winning their season opener- and first in-conference match-

6-0 against long-time rival Edgewood last Thursday.

Those who attended the opener at Talawanda were welcomed with a first-minute goal by the Braves, who then never looked back. They scored five in the first half, with Eusebio Farrah contributing a goal and an assist. The match ended with six different scorers for Talawanda, including junior and last year's leading scorer Zach Phillips hitting the back of the net.

Phillips will be the linchpin of the offense after an outstanding sophomore year where he made the All-Dayton area and all-league teams. However, he is nursing a back injury, which is one of the team's primary concerns.

"The key for us is staying healthy," head coach Scott Brown said. "We started July 5 and we played 17 or 18 games this summer, and this is the first time we've had the squad together."

The Braves have mostly juniors and seniors starting, most of which have been on the varsity squad since their freshman year. This experience should help Talawanda overcome any forthcoming difficulties by way of injuries or some tough upcoming games.

Brown is looking to midfielders Josh Howington and Jacob Miller, both all-league last year, to help set the flow of the game. Brown says the main strategy for the team this year is unpredictability on offense, which was certainly shown in the opener with six different goal scorers.

"We're just trying to be so unpredictable, where you'll have no clue who's going to go in toward the net," Brown said. "Just being unpredictable, playing balls out wide, but just being so simple."

The strategy has worked so far. The Braves went on the road for their second game, playing what Brown said he thought might be the toughest game of the year, at Oak Hills this past Saturday. Talawanda played effectively unpredictable, winning 3-0. The team has tended to spread the field, pushing the ball aggressively in the first half or until they have a comfortable lead, and then letting their defense lock down the win.

Talawanda boys soccer is in the midst of a four-game homestand. After playing here Tuesday and Thursday of this week, against West Carrollton and Hamilton, respectively, the Braves host Glen Este on Tuesday and Greenville Thursday next week. Those games will start at 7 p.m.

Talawanda gets plenty of home cooking during September, with five of their eight games at home, but October will start them off with one of their biggest challenges, as they play fellow Division II squad Ross — which was preseason ranked number seven — on the road.