OXFORD >> The Oxford Wildcats opened up the season with a 4-1 win over the Dearborn Divine Child Falcons Friday night.

The Falcons came out fast, creating an outstanding chance in transition in the opening minute that they failed to cash in on. Thus, it was Oxford that got on the board first when Anthony Jabaro set up Tristan Worthun at the top of the penalty area and Worthun struck a hard volley that threaded through the traffic in front and found the back of the net just 2:37 into the game.

Despite the 1-0 lead, the Wildcats spent much of the first 20 minutes on the back foot as Divine Child had a clear advantage in possession early on. Still, for all of that possession, the Falcons had nothing to show for it, creating just one shot on goal — and no goals in that stretch.

Oxford seized control with 14:18 to play in the first half when Drew Cady played a long ball over the top that Ryan Clark won the race for, getting behind the defense, slipping around the goalie and firing into the open net to double Oxford’s lead.

“The second one gave us a lot of confidence, and also, I think it let everybody relax. First-game jitters, even veteran teams have them, but everybody was able to relax and get to work. We were able to use everybody tonight, and I thought they played extremely hard all the way around,” Oxford head coach Adam Bican said.

That goal turned the tide in the game. The Wildcats dominated the next 25 minutes, racking up shots and converting two more of them into goals, one by Ryan Pietsch in transition and a flick header by Luca Erskine off a throw-in to build the lead to 4-0 early in the second half.

“You have to take care of your opportunities no matter how they come. I’m just very happy that we’re having opportunities in different ways. So we’re creating those opportunities and four times tonight we finished on them,” Bican said.

Divine Child got a late goal from Luke Weber, who banged in a loose ball with 6:08 remaining, but they never really got back into the game once Oxford broke it open.

Both teams are coming off strong seasons with Oxford returning 18 players from last year’s OAA Red title squad, while Divine Child reached the regional finals in 2023 and also returns 18 players from last year’s team.

Still, both programs were looking to learn some more things about this year’s edition as they try to hit the ground the running.

“There were some things we did well, but it was individual, and I think we just need to unify as a team and focus on working together and not separately,” Falcons head coach Dean Kowalski said.

Divine Child (0-1) will open league play on Tuesday against perennial division contender Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood. The teams split a pair of games last year with each team winning on the road.“The good news is, with the experience that we have, we’ve been here before with early-season losses. We call them ‘rude awakenings,’ and it’s not going to define our season,” Kowalski said. “Tuesday, we get Cranbrook right off the bat, and in our league, if you get behind the 8-ball, it’s hard to get back in the mix. So we’ve got to be ready to go on Tuesday and treat it like a playoff game,” he added.

Oxford (1-0) had a quick turnaround, hosting University of Detroit-Jesuit Saturday morning. The Wildcats will begin defense of their OAA Red title on Aug. 27 when they host Rochester Adams.

“It was nice because we had an incredible turnout tonight from the community, so that made it special,” Bican said.

“For a first game, we’re pretty happy. Everyone got to contribute,” he added.