Even though Davie’s varsity girls soccer team has only triumphed over Reynolds three times in its 28-year history, the visiting War Eagles stared down the Demons on March 26.

The War Eagles eventually lost 4-3 in overtime, but they made loud noises in a performance that validated coach Abe Senbel’s upbeat tone throughout the season.

Last year Reynolds stomped Davie 9-0 and 4-0. In this one, Davie (2-5-1 overall) forced Reynolds (3-4) to play 100 minutes in the Central Piedmont Conference opener for both teams.

“It was incredible,” Senbel said. “They were bigger and faster than our kids. They dominated somewhat the first half. They hit the bar a couple times. In the second half we did really well. All our goals were deserving goals. The girls turned it on and they started to fall apart and started to be aggressive with our girls.”

Linden Fisher scored at six and eight minutes to stake Reynolds to a 2-0 lead. But Davie did not fold its tent, stunning the home team with three of the next four goals. Junior Reece Vizcaino, assisted by sophomore Blakley Freeman, put Davie on the board at 39 minutes, and it was 2-1 at the half.

“I think they got rattled because we scored,” Senbel said.

Indeed, Davie survived the early wobble and settled in for the rest of the game. Senior Faith Bokeno tied the game at 48 minutes, getting an assist from freshman Madison Smith. Reynolds’ Rachel Whalen scored one minute later, but a Kam Parks-to-Bokeno connection tied the score at 3 with six minutes left in regulation.

It was Bokeno’s eighth goal in eight games, the most by a War Eagle since Jessica Navarro’s eight in 2016. And Davie was doing this while missing a big contributor in Jaci Grachen.

“One of our top players, Jaci, was not able to play, and that is one big part of our midfield and defense,” Senbel said. “We missed her.”

Davie’s all-time record in the series is 3-47-3. Kat Watts nearly delivered the fourth win with four minutes left in regulation, but her direct kick hit the bar.

When 80 regulation minutes concluded, the teams fought for 20 overtime minutes. Fisher scored the only goal during OT at 85 minutes.

“It was just a mistake,” Senbel said.

Davie hung tough despite getting outshot 27-5. Georgia Visser collected 13 saves at goalie. Parks had a save as a defender. Reynolds barely escaped to stop its three-game losing streak.

“We battled until the end,” Senbel said. “I told the girls: ‘You are improving every week. You’re learning every week. You’re believing every week. And that’s what matters. Think and reflect about what went right and what went wrong.’”

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West Forsyth and Forbush were just too good for Davie. West rolled over visiting Davie 9-0 on March 28. The Titans soared to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the CPC.

In a home nonconference game against Forbush on March 29, Davie dropped its fourth straight, 3-0, to fall to 2-7-1 overall. The Falcons, who are 4-0 in the Western Piedmont 2-A Conference, pushed their overall record to 10-2.

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Davie’s JV lost 6-0 to West and 1-0 to Forbush. It was the second 1-0 loss for the 0-4 War Eagles.