Although Davie’s varsity soccer team didn’t make history with its first win over Reagan, Davie played tough and inspired in a 2-0 home loss on April 16.

The Raiders are 9-2-2 overall and 5-0 in the Central Piedmont Conference. They were coming off a 1-0 win over West Forsyth, which is 11-2 overall. They have never lost to Davie, but they had to work hard to earn their 17th win in the series.

“We changed strategy,” coach Abe Senbel said. “I usually run a 4-4-2, but today I was more conservative and went with a defensive strategy (4-5-1). We didn’t take a lot of chances. I said: ‘Let’s not give up any silly goals early in the game. Let’s stay in the game. Come to the ball, hustle and support your teammates. Show some pride in all the work you’ve been doing. The only request I have is leave it all on the field.’ And they did.”

The Central Piedmont Conference’s last-place team gave the first-place team a stirring run. Reagan’s goals came on a penalty kick at 20 minutes and on a free kick at 70 minutes.

“I felt today was a turning point for the team,” Senbel said. “Everyone gave 100 percent. Something finally clicked. (Reagan) got frustrated. You could tell their coach was unhappy with his team.”

Goalie Maddie Tellup was a big reason Davie stayed within striking distance virtually all night. Davie also got excellent play from defenders Kam Parks, Kat Watts, Jaci Grachen and Amanda Ngo and midfielders Grachen, Emma Helton, Blakley Freeman, Madison Smith and Rachel Devereaux.

“I would say Maddie was the star of the game,” he said. “She had a lot of wonderful saves. The defense was very strong. They were also very smart. The midfield also stepped it up.”

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The War Eagles suffered another close loss, 2-0, at home to Reynolds on April 19. The first meeting went to overtime, with the Demons prevailing.

Davie (2-12-1, 0-6 CPC) has nine straight losses, including four straight shutouts.

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Davie’s JV lost 5-0 at home to Reagan. It was 1-0 at halftime before the War Eagles “ran out of steam,” coach Nathan Stephens said after Davie (0-6-1, 0-3-1 CPC) remained winless.