Regional Finals or Bust: A Q&A With Churchill Soccer Coach Arnold Tarzy

The Churchill High School boys soccer team finished their pre-season with a 5-1 victory over Sidwell Friends on Tuesday. Coach Arnold Tarzy spoke with Patch following the match about the upcoming season and his team's chances of making a push for the regional championship.

North Potomac-Darnestown Patch: What is your background in coaching soccer?

Arnold Tarzy: I've been coaching for about 15 years. I've been coaching club for the entire time, and I've been coaching at Churchill for three years. I've taken four different teams to Nationals. Three guys that I coached were MLS first-round draft picks. They're all playing right now — one in Europe, two in MLS. They were Freddy Adu, Rodney Wallace of DC United and Kevin Alston of New England Revolution.

Patch: How would you say your preseason went?

Tarzy: Our preseason went well. We put an emphasis on fitness, and I think it showed tonight. We're extremely fit, and we worked very hard. It's going to serve us well. We'll be able to finish off games that last year we couldn't because we weren't fit. We made sure to get a lot of variety of games with different kinds of opponents. I always try to play private schools early because they're technically tougher than public schools. They can recruit to their needs and not just use whoever enrolls.

Patch: Was tonight what you expected it would be?

Tarzy: I'm done expecting things, but I felt as though if we took care of the things we needed to take care of, we would get a good result.

Patch: Who stood out tonight?

Tarzy: Stephen Hauschild did a great job of staying busy in the midfield. Pretty much the whole show was running through him. Then, Patrick Tshiani finished two goals early and broke the game open. He had a lot of speed up top.

Patch: Who else do you expect to play well this season?

Tarzy: Our goalie, Eli Lorenzi, is excellent. I think what made the difference in the game was when we were absorbing the attack early with our two incredible center defenders in Ryan Becket and Joe Ulica. They are two big, tall guys. Everything that comes in there, they're hitting away. They are both pretty technical and good with their feet.

Patch: What are your goals for the season?

Tarzy: I would like to get at least as far as the regional semi-finals. I think we can do it, and it's a matter of whether we can stay focused and healthy.

Patch: Who is the team to beat?

Tarzy: Whitman is the defending state champion, so until somebody knocks them off, it has to be them.

Patch: What will it take to beat them?

Tarzy: We need to play possession soccer and be patient when we have it, find the openings and finish it.

Patch: What needs to happen for you to look back on this season and consider it a success?

Tarzy: We've got to get to the regional finals.

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