NET GAINS: Oxford goalkeeper Tristan Bennett going out in style
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
OXFORD — Tristan Bennett received some baptism under fire as a freshman.
Thrusted into the varsity starting lineup in 2017 for an Oxford soccer team loaded with sophomores and freshmen, Bennett and his teammates took some lumps that season.
“It was kind of rough,” recalled Bennett. “I remember a game where I had to make 20 saves. I had a couple of other where I made around 15 saves. We struggled that year. But I learned a lot.”
Teamwise, Oxford might have struggled. The Wildcats also learned something — that hey had a rising talent in Tristan Bennett. He grew stronger and became quite comfortable playing against older players even though he was peppered with shots and his team finished below five-hundred that season.
Bennett, now a 6-foot-2 senior goalkeeper at Oxford, is nearing the end of his stellar prep career — a career he hopes continues at the collegiate level.
Oxford senior goalkeeper Tristan Bennett goes full horizontal to make a save in a game this season.
Courtesy Photo | Lesa Bennett
He has turned plenty of heads in the process.
Bennett has started over 95 percent of Oxford’s contests in his varsity career, and ranks well inside the top five in numerous single-game, season and career categories on Oxford’s school records leaderboard — 2006 graduate Shane Rondy has most of the school goalkeeping records.
This season he has been exceptional for a very young team of mostly new starters, although the Wildcats’ 5-6-3 overall record is quite deceiving. He has started 13 of his team’s 14 games, playing 11.50 total games. Bennett has recorded 10 complete games, four shutouts, a 1.48 goals-against-average, allowing 17 goals, and posted a save percentage of over .800.
The stats don’t tell even begin to tell part of his story.
Oxford’s Tristan Bennett will depart as one of the school’s all-time best goalkeepers dating back to the early 1980s when the Wildcats’ program first started. Courtesy Photo | TRZSports
“He saved a PK (penalty shot) with eight minutes left the other day against (Auburn Hills) Avondale. We had one of our two freshmen score the game-winner with 1:34 left,” noted first-year Oxford coach Adam Bican. “But Tristan knew we had to win in order to win the league title. He made that huge save. He’s done that all season long — he’s been brilliant. And I’m told he’s done that for four years at Oxford.
“We’re a very young team and it took some time for us to learn team defense,” continued Bican. “But Tristan has just been great back there. He is special. Teams are averaging 15 shots against us. Rochester even had 19 shots against us, and (Troy) Athens and (Utica) Eisenhower had similar amounts. And even though he only played part of the game against Athens and Eisenhower — I had to give our backups some minutes — he’s made a ton of great saves and kept us in a lot of games. We would not have won the league without him.”
Bennett, who plays in goal for his Vardar ECNL club team, where he is also the regular starter, is more than stats to the Wildcats. Oxford is actually only 30-34-10 the past four seasons, including 5-11-3 in his freshman season.
Oxford captured the OAA White Division league title this year after tying for fifth last season. The Wildcats posted a 5-1-2 league mark for 17 points, pulling ahead of Royal Oak, Birmingham Groves, Rochester, Farmington, West Bloomfield and Lake Orion in the final weeks. The 2-1 victory over Avondale — where Bennett had 10 saves including the penalty kick stop — helped sealed the deal.
Oxford’s Tristan Bennett points to his teammates to mark up properly before a free kick. Courtesy Photo | TRZSports
Bennett entered this shortened 2020 season as a three-time all-league and three-time all-district selection and should be at those levels again after this season. Bennett is also ranked amongst the top 10 keepers in the state and could find a well-deserved spot on the All-State teams next month.
Bican, who took two years off coaching high school after an eight-year stretch at Rochester Stoney Creek, was told what kind of gem he was inheriting between the pipes when he accepted the job at the beginning of the year.
“Everyone told me I was getting a good goalkeeper,” said Bican. “I watched him in a few practices and said to myself ‘he’s the best goalkeeper I’ve ever coached.’ On top of that, he just doesn’t makes (routine) saves, he makes great saves and keeps us in ball games. He’s just a great kid, too. He’ll be a steal on a college roster somewhere.”
The humble Bennett, who also plays varsity basketball as a reserve forward, just tries to help his team be competitive.
“I just try to help my team win or stay in games. That’s my job,” said Bennett, who is only beginning to talk to college coaches about the possibility of playing collegiate soccer next year. “I just love being in goal. It feels natural. I guess I have those long arms and can anticipate really well which way they are going (on shots). Especially penalty kicks. I don’t mind facing them.”
Bennett stopped five PKs in his junior season and has saved double digits of penalties in his career.
Bennett was given invites to tryout for the Vardar Academy teams the past couple of years, but turned them down.
“I would have to split time there. Here in high school and with my club, I get to play most of the minutes. And I get to play basketball, too,” added Bennett. “I love playing for my school.”
Oxford will visit Romeo (7-4-3) at 6 p.m. Thursday to open up Division 1 district play. Oxford lost in the district finals last season, and the district semifinals as both a sophomore and freshman. The Wildcats were edged by Grand Blanc 2-1 in last year’s district finals despite outshooting the Bobcats 17-13. Bennett made a save on a — you guessed it — penalty kick in that contest.
As tournament time fast approaches, opposing teams do not want to face a red-hot and confident goalkeeper.
Oxford has just that in Tristan Bennett.
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