Best-kept secret Troy Bethany’s Woodham quietly leads Bruins to best-ever season

RISING: Troy Bethany Christian senior midfielder is the top-candidate for Conference MVP in the FBAC Red Division and hopes to lead the Bruins to the Michigan Association of Christian Schools Division I state championship. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt.

TROY

— Travis Woodham is not your prototypical soccer standout from Oakland County..

The talented senior, a Rochester Hills resident and senior at Troy Bethany Christian, doesn’t suit up for Vardar or the Michigan Wolves. He’s not involved in the Olympic Developmental Program and his club experience is not that extensive..

Yet, as the state tournament begins this week, the senior midfielder is also one of Oakland County’s best kept secrets..

“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Woodham. “I think our team has come a long ways in the years I have here. “I started playing with some of the guys in seventh grade (on the junior high team) and we have become a better team every year.”.

Woodham was all-conference first team as a junior — in three sports. He earned the honor in soccer, boys basketball and baseball and helped his team win Fundamental Baptist Athletic Conference Red Division titles in all three sports. He was also runner-up for Conference MVP last season in soccer and basketball to Josh Diebler of Clinton Township Faith Christian, who moved to Florida last summer..

In soccer, Woodham led his team to its fifth straight league championship this season (8-0-0). During Woodham’s four-year career on with the Bruins, Bethany Christian, which has around 100 students in grades 9-12, has posted an unbeaten streak of 30 games inside the FBAC-Red, going 26-0-4 in that span..

“Travis is the complete player,” said Woodham. “He leads us. He scores goals, assists on goals. He controls the flow of the game. So much of what we do flows through Travis. He’s the best player in our conference. He’s such a good kid, too. He works hard. He’s such a good athlete. Travis has come a long ways since he was in junior high.”.

Ironically, Woodham grew up playing baseball and basketball. He picked up soccer in seventh grade, but being a natural athlete, he has built up his skill set to become one of the better midfielders in the area..

In a recent game, Woodham scored the game-winner against Rochester Hills Christian in the first half. Receiving a through pass from a teammate, Woodham pulled a kwelf, spun around and laced a shot to the upper 90 of the net from 25 yards out. In the final regular season game Friday, he finished with four goals and three assists in an 8-0 whitewashing of Temperance Stateline Christian, the same team that knocked the Bruins out of the postseason last year..

This season, the 6-foot-1, 160-pound Woodham, has posted 32 goals and 18 assists so far this season. He has 78 goals and 45 assists for his varsity career, which ranks third on the school’s all-time list. His 32 goals this season is also the second-highest single-season total in school history, while his 82 points this year is a single-season school record..

Although he only played part-time on varsity as a freshman, he still scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the team’s first postseason game. He had 10 goals and five assists as a part-time varsity player his freshman year. He collected 15 goals and 15 assists as a sophomore and 21 goals and seven assists as a junior. .

Woodham and the Bruins will go after its first Michigan Association of Christian Schools Division I state title this season. Bethany, who has set a school record for wins with a 16-2-1 ledger heading into the tournament, has not lost a game since August and is the No. 1 seed in the tourney for the first time..

Last season, Troy Bethany lost in the MACS state semifinals to Stateline Christian, 2-1, in a shootout, in which Stateline held a 5-4 edge in the tiebreaker. The Bruins have already defeated Stateline twice this season..

“Ever since last season, our goal was to come back and contend for the state title,” said Woodham. “We know we have the talent. We brought back most of our team this year. We play together as a team and that is a big part of it.”.

Woodham aspires to play either small-college soccer or basketball, and is looking into Clearwater (Fla.) as a possible option, among others..

For now, Woodham and the Bruins have but one focus once they step onto the soccer field. Bethany Christian will play Friday in a MACS second-round game on a neutral site between the winner of the Midland Christian-Bridgeport Baptist, which is being played Tuesday..

Stateline Christian, Clinton Township Faith Christian and No. 4 Saginaw Community Baptist are also in the Bruins’ sectional of the MACS-Division I..

“We worked hard to get to this. Now, we have to go out there and accomplish our goal,” said Woodham. “We have never won a (state title) in soccer before.”.

And perhaps, if Bethany Christian does stake claim to some championship hardware this season, Travis Woodham will not be a well-kept secret anymore.

Tags: featured, soccer

Category: Featured Articles, Troy Bethany Christian