The Canal Winchester High School boys soccer team struggled to finish its scoring opportunities early in the season, scoring just four goals in its first fives games while getting out to a 2-3 start.

Coach Erik Feinstein is hoping the Indians have overcome their scoring woes for good, after defeating Logan Elm 7-0 in a MSL-Buckeye Division contest on Sept. 6 and beating Newark 3-0 on Sept. 8 to improve to 4-3 overall.

Against Logan Elm, Bailey Butler and Noah Ising each had two goals, Zach Barwick, Jeremy Knightstep and Joe Nichols each scored one and goalkeeper Matt Appel had one save.

Against Newark, Barwick, Butler and Nichols scored and Appel had three saves.

"We've been creating chances all season, but we've just needed to put them away more often," Feinstein said. "We've been getting better at finishing and we finally broke through with a lot of goals in our last two games. Neither of those teams are one of the stronger opponents on our schedule, but I'm hoping that scoring the way we did will give our guys confidence and we'll continue to do a better job of finishing in future games."

Sophomore forward Luciano Phaboune sat out against Logan Elm and Newark after suffering a concussion in a 2-1 league loss at Bloom-Carroll on Aug. 30, but the Indians' offense received a boost when Ising returned to the lineup against Logan Elm after sitting out the first five contests with a pulled hamstring.

"We really missed Noah's speed and finishing ability, and we're looking forward to having him back at full strength as his hamstring continues to heal," Feinstein said.

According to Feinstein, the starting defensive unit of Appel, Knightstep, Daltyn Colley, Blake Horne and Ryan Miller has been playing well as the Indians have allowed just five goals through seven games.

Canal Winchester is 3-2 against Division I opponents so far, having beaten Groveport (1-0 on Aug. 21), St. Charles (2-1 on Aug. 28) and Newark. The Indians lost to Westerville North (2-1 on Aug. 18) and Pickerington Central (1-0 on Aug. 23).

"We opened with four of our first five games on the road against really good teams in Groveport, Pickerington Central, Westerville North and Bloom-Carroll, and we lost heartbreakers to Bloom-Carroll and Pickerington Central, but we were in every one of those games," Feinstein said. "The best we've played was against Newark because we possessed the ball for probably 80 percent of the game. Our best win was St. Charles. We were down 1-0 at halftime, but Jacob Mullenbach and Daltyn Colley scored in the second half to bring us back."

The Indians faces another Division I opponent when they play Thursday, Sept. 13, at Lancaster. The teams played to a scoreless tie last season.

"Lancaster isn't a league game, but it's another Division I opponent on the road and it's a game we have to do well in to get votes from coaches in the Division I district tournament draw," Feinstein said. "So it's very important to us."

Football team set to begin league play

The football team, which lost to Marion-Franklin 28-3 on Sept. 7 to drop to 1-2, opens MSL-Buckeye play on Friday, Sept. 14, at home against Fairfield Union.

Last season, Canal Winchester beat Fairfield Union 44-22 en route to going 5-2 in the league to place third behind co-champions Amanda-Clearcreek (6-1) and Logan Elm (6-1).

Fairfield Union beat Williamstown (W.Va.) 46-14 on Sept. 7 to improve to 1-2 and snap a 15-game losing streak.

Junior quarterback David Wolshire led the Falcons' option offense against Williamstown, rushing for 217 yards and two touchdowns and passing for 66 yards and a score. Senior running back Josh Stewart rushed for three touchdowns.

Key players on the Falcons' defense include senior end Sam Green, senior tackle Tommy Fox and senior linebacker Matt Ruff.

Against Marion-Franklin, Canal Winchester led 3-0 at halftime on a 20-yard field goal by Ising.

But the Indians struggled offensively, rushing for only 16 yards on 25 carries while Isaac Pifer was just 2-for-14 passing for 61 yards. Canal Winchester also was penalized 12 times for 92 yards.

Leading the Indians' defense were Nick Toledo (9 tackles), Deontaye Cosby (8 tackles) and Lamont Martin (7 tackles, 1 sack).