Varsity Boys Soccer

Our Varsity Soccer Team headed across town to take on conference opponent Grace Christian on Tuesday, September 12th.  The Warriors were focused and ready to compete after having some tough outcomes in previous matchups.  The game was hard fought with rainy conditions.  Junior Will Sink led the Warriors with 2 goals off assist from Senior Tomas Retana and Junior Landon Breswitz.  The Warriors maintained great intensity and focus throughout the game as they defeated the Eagles 2-0.  "We will look to build on this win in practice and prepare for our next conference game on Thursday, September 14th against Cary Christian.  Come out and support!" -Coach Cornéjo

UPPER SCHOOL ROUND-UP (8/21-8/25)

JV FOOTBALL

Our JV Football team traveled to Cary Christian to take on the Knights for their season opener.  The Warriors were in high spirits and ready to compete.  Matthew Palmer had a 60 yard for a touchdown as the only score for the Warriors.  “The loss was tough but was a great learning experience.  We will learn and get better from it.” – Coach Viera The Warriors next contest is against Arendell Parrott Academy at home next Wednesday, August 30th. 

VARSITY SOCCER

ARENDELL PARROTT (8/22)   Our Varsity Boys Soccer Team travelled to Arendell Parrott Academy to take on the Patriots.  The Warriors were feeling confident coming off of their strong performance against Dash United.  The Warriors had a positive start with several attacking opportunites but made a costly error on defense that led to a goal by the Patriots.  “It took us a while to adjust fielding with 3 new players on defense.” – Coach Sewell. The Warriors gave up 2 more goals before the half and went into halftime down 3-0.  The Warriors came out the second half and played much better.  The Warriors controlled play, created more chances and were able to get a goal back; Landon Brestwitz scored with an assist from Fabian Fallas. “We have work to do, as we must improve our game awareness and technical abilities, best part of it all; the boys are up to the challenge.” -Coach Cornéjo

CARY ACADEMY (8/24)  The Varsity Boys Soccer Team faced Cary Academy on their home field.  The Warriors held the Chargers scoreless in the first half but were unable to score themselves.  The Warriors came out of the half flat and allowed 4 goals in the second half.  “The boys tried hard but it just wasn’t enough today.  We will go back to the practice field as there is much to work on!” – Coach Cornéjo

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY

THALES ACADEMY (8/22) Our Varsity Cross Country team traveled to Rolesville to compete in their first race of the season hosted by Thales Academy. The start to the season has been challenged by high heat and humidity, but the team has been faithful to train when and where they can. The Warriors were eager, and a little apprehensive, to race, to find out their level of fitness, and to set a 5K season best on which to build. The girls’ team led by Sophomore captain Lizzie Latchford with Freshmen girls Annie Erickson and Emma Rose Marshall, was first to race in a field of 47 athletes. Lizzie and Annie ran together through the first two miles and finished the race in 15^th (28:19) and 19^th (28:46) with only 27 seconds between them. Emma Rose ran courageously and showed mental toughness in successfully finishing her first Varsity race (39, 35:43).By the time the gun went off at 6:05 PM for the boys’ race, the temperature had cooled significantly and with cloud cover, a light breeze, and a largely shaded course, conditions were much better than expected. Our six athletes, led by Senior captain Kaishun Sato-Choi, Charlie Slawinski, Connor Jordan, Nico Janas, Carter Moran, and Thomas France ran respectable first races of the season. First to cross the finish line for St. David’s was Charlie, whose 2^nd place overall finish in a sub 18:00 time of 17:56 bodes very well for the season ahead. Rounding out our team in the seven-school field of 68 athletes were Connor Jordan (43, 24:52), Nico Janas (51, 26:06), Kaishun Sato-Choi (57, 28:12), Carter Moran (63, 31:13) and Thomas France (67, 33:17). The team earned a 6^th place finish with these performances.

VARSITY GIRLS GOLF

GRACE CHRISTIAN OF SANDFORD (8/22)   Our Varsity Girls Golf Team opened their season against Grace Christian of Sandford at the Quail Ridge Country Club.  Mackenzie Cline was our lone player on a course she had never played before and on a very hot afternoon. The course was in great condition!  Mackenzie shot a 1 over par 37 to be the Match Medalist of the day among 15 other players.  She started with a double bogey on her first hole, and then eagled the next hole, reaching a par 5 in 2 shots and making a 10 foot putt for eagle, to get back to even par through 2 holes. She had a very steady round after that.  Mackenzie finished as the medalist for this event.

VARSITY GIRLS TENNIS

RAVENSCROFT (8/22)   The Varsity Girls Tennis Team travelled to Arendell Parrott Academy to take the Patriots.  Junior Kennedy Holmes and 8^th grader Anna Hauser both won very tough singles matches in 3 sets.  The doubles teams for the Warriors played well again.  The Warriors are learning and growing with each match.  “I am very proud of how all of the girls played.  Parrott had a really strong lineup, especially at the top.” – Coach Crowder

JV VOLLEYBALL

ARENDELL PARROTT (8/17)  Our  JV Volleyball Team played big rival Arendell Parrott in Lockerbie Gym on August 17^th. It was the first game of the season for this team, and they came ready to play! While the team lost, both sets were close (27-25 and 25-23). The entire team had a consistent serving and hitting game with standouts M.E. Martin, L. Graham, E.K. Woody and M.E. Borges. Coach Lamb and Coach Eastmann were pleased with the team’s performance and know that their team will continue to improve throughout the season. They look forward to their next game at North Raleigh Christian on August 22^nd.

NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (8/22)  Our JV Volleyball Team traveled to NRCA to take on the Knights on August 22^nd.  The Warriors were looking to build upon a their performance in the first game of the season.  The Warriors were a bit nervous due to the notoriety of the Knights.  The Warriors allowed their nerves to get the best of them in this contest.  By the time they settled into the match and realized they could be competitive against NRCA it was too late.  “the girls let themselves get overwhelmed that the other team was known to be a hard one.” – Coach Lamb

VARISTY VOLLEYBALL

NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY  Our Varsity Volleyball Team travelled across town to face the Knights on Tuesday, August 22^nd.  The Warriors had a slow start in the first 2 sets as our hitters just could not seem to get going.  The Warriors had a few unforced errors and trouble defending the outside and middle hitters of NRCA.  The Warriors were able to make some adjustments in the 3^rd set with Senior Skyler Woods setting 5-1 and Senior Rebekah Leshnock moving to outside hitter.  Sophomore Grimsley McNairy stepped up for the Warriors and had several key plays as she was aggressively attacking from the front and back row.  Senior Rebekah Leshnock made some key blocks as well to help the Warriors take that set.  “We faced some talented players today.  Playing against this level of competition will help prepare us for the tough schedule ahead.” – Coach Lightbourn

CARY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL (8/25) – Our Varsity Volleyball Team headed to Cary Christian on Friday, August 25^th.  The Warriors were looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season against NRCA.  The Warriors started off slow but were able to get things going and win the first set.  The Warriors had too many unforced errors in the 2^nd and 3^rd sets and found themselves down 1-3 headed into the 4^th set.  The Warriors were able to bounce back and win the 4^th set behind some key kills and blocks from Senior Rebekah Leshnock and Junior Eliza Everett.  By the 5^th set the Warriors were clicking on all cylinders and easily took the win.  “We are still making too many unforced errors during crucial moments of the match.  We have to get better.” - Coach Lightbourn

Our Varsity Boys Soccer Team was in action on Thursday, August 17th to kick off their 2023 Season.  The Warriors were anxious to pay and came onto the field full of energy.  The Warriors put on a passing display that in turn created several scoring opportuniities.  "We did not communicate well so we will continue to work on that at practice on Monday.  All 19 Warrior players were able to get minutes on the field giving them an opportunity to increase their game awareness under pressure. Landon Breswitz scored 2 goals, Walker Tattersall, Fabian Fallas Retana, Nicholas Fritsche and Charles Hatton completed the scoring. The Warriors will be in action again on Tuesday, August 22nd as they travel down to take on the Patriots of Arendell Parrott. 

The Varsity Boys Soccer team hosted a tough Cary Christian team on Thursday, September 8^th.  The Warriors started the game out tough creating multiple scoring opportunities but could not capitalize on them.  The Warriors goalie, Jack Sena, played a very tough game coming up with multiple stops and deflections to keep the contest under control.  "We made a few costly errors that we will make sure to address and clean up at our next practice", said Coach Cornejo.  The Warriors are back in action for a conference game next Tuesday, September 13^th against Grace Christian.

On Tuesday, August 23rd the varsity boys soccer team took on Southwest Wake in a newly added game to their schedule. In the teams first game of the week, and only second of the season they struggled on field against a worthy opponent. Southwest Wake put plenty of pressure on our Warriors who in turn made some mistakes that were capitalized on by the Wolves. The Wolves kept after them who turned much of the momentum in their favor ending the match in a 1-5 loss for the Warriors. Coach Cornejo summed up the loss succinctly by saying "it was good that we were able to get the whole team out there and everyone had an opportunity to play but we have work to do. I think the boys are up for it. We will work hard to get them there." Their lone goal was scored by sophomore Will Sink. It's a quick turnaround for the Warriors who will be back on the field tomorrow, August 25th against Arendell Parrott at home. Please come support our Warriors in another hunt for a victory. 

In the second round of playoffs the Warriors played Grace Christian in an away match on October 21st. The soccer team had split with them during the year and the team went in to the game feeling good about the chances having competed with them during the season in really tight, well-played, exciting matches. Early on in the first half the Eagles put a goal in the back of the net that the defense couldn't stop. It felt like catch-up from there for the team that tried to claw their way back but at half-time was down 3-1. The team returned from the half ready to compete and they started to fight back with good defensive fights on the ball and stronger possessions but when Grace Christian got another goal the team was just not able to pull it off. The final score was 6-1 to close the 2021 soccer season. Coach Cornejo said of his team, "I am proud of the boys as we always gave our best, I am thankful to our seniors for their contribution to St. David's soccer."

The Warriors took on New Life Camp and fought hard on Monday, October 11th having one of the most intense finishes of the season. The Warriors were down at halftime and the Storm scored another goal quickly making it 2-3 but, the Warriors responded with one of their own and with just seconds on the clock Alex Weaver made an amazing goal to finish off with a hat trick for his senior night. Two of those assists also came from Senior Hank Madden. As the game was non-conference the final result was a 3-3 tie but the Warriors, riding momentum, decided to challenge the opponents to a ten minute overtime. The Storm accepted and scored another goal, a heartbreaking loss on senior night. Coach Cornejo who talked with the parents after the game and honored the seniors who had been such an important part of the team said, "it was not the desired result but the team fought hard and must prepare for an away game coming next Tuesday, October19th to start the State playoffs." He added, "we had a really nice crowd for Senior Day celebrating the contributions that Alex Weaver, Hank Madden, Alex Barroso, Harper Pennington and Andy Retana have made to our program over the last few years. 

The Varsity Warriors played well Thursday but in the end were defeated by the Patriots of Arendell Parrot Academy on September 16th. The Warriors, having made big improvements in the past week, passed well, had much better ball control and had excellent goal scoring opportunities but in the end were not able to convert these into points on the board. The Patriots, led on by a strong second half and impressive talent in the opposition, defeated the Warriors 5-0. Coach Cornejo told the players to keep their heads up as there were many positive things and lots of things to learn from the game. The boys take to the field again in a home match on September 21st against Cary Christian. Come out to support our Warriors!

The Warriors played against Cary Christian in a competitive away game on September 8th. The match-up was an excellent test to boys' progress through this early part of the season and they rose to the occasion with clean possession, aggressive defense and thorough communication. Coach Cornejo said of his team, "it was probably our best game yet this year. We Were communicating and connecting passes. We played as a unit and even though we lost there were a lot of positive moments that we hope to build on." Hank Madden scored with an assist from Will Sink leaving the score a 5-1 loss. The scoreboard doesn't quite reflect the game or the Warrior's effort in this match-up. The boys will compete again at Durham Academy on September 14th. 

The Warriors lost in an away match to Trinity Academy on September 7th. The boys continue to piece together bits of improvement along the way but Trinity put too much pressure on the team and they struggled to recover. The pressure forced errors and limited possession for the team as they seemed to be playing well one moment but the next making mistakes. Coach Cornejo emphasized the importance of communication "as it is crucial to team development", he said. In this game, Alex Weaver scored 2 goals, Hank Madden scored the other with assists from Alex Barroso and Hank Madden. 

Varsity boys soccer played against Ravenscroft on August 31st at home. The Warriors hung with the Ravens in a 1-1 game for the first twenty minutes of the game until the boys took some hits that resulted in minor injuries for a few players. After some shaking off and adjusting the team could never quite recover from those challenges. Injuries forced players to play in positions they aren't usually in and those substitutions seemed just a bit too far outside the Warriors' comfort zone. The heat and skipping a day of practice surely didn't help matters but "the boys will regroup and continue to press onward to their next competition" Coach Cornejo said, when they play an away game against Fayetteville Christian Academy on September 2nd. 

Varsity boys soccer took the field Friday, August 27th to take on Rocky Mount at home. They showed poise and control as they played demonstrating real improvement from their last competition against Cary Academy. "Collectively", Coach Cornejo said, "we moved really well and our communication was the best so far this year". They started out strong, passing well and moving as a unit throughout the first half. Goal scorers included Lucas Pisciotta, Sebastian Casas, Hank Madden, who also delivered an assist, and Alex Weaver, who notched 4 of the Warriors' 7 goals. The Warriors take on Ravenscroft at home on Tuesday the 31st next.