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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Davie’s varsity soccer team is snake-bit. Last week it fell short by one, two and one goals.

When Davie hosted Forbush on Aug. 29, things could not have gone much better. The War Eagles gave an undefeated team everything it could handle, only to fall 3-2.

This was the closest game of the year for the 4-0 Falcons, who outscored their first three opponents 17-1.

“It was a tough one,” assistant coach Nate Hinshaw said. “We wanted that one bad. Our guys played hard. It just wasn’t quite enough.”

Head coach Marco Rebollar reveled in the tightly-contested showdown against his coach, Seth Davis, from his high school days at Forbush.

“That was a fun game for sure,” he said. “I played against him at Elkin and it’s always been a battle. I think this was the closest I’ve come to beating him. Hopefully it’s coming soon.”

With an assist from Alex Torres, Justin Rayas scored to tie the game at 1-1. Forbush took a 2-1 lead to halftime, but Rayas struck again early in the second half to force a tie at 2.

Rebollar marveled at the freshman, who has four goals in five games.

“He’s having a fantastic freshman year,” he said. “I’m so happy for him. He’s been at the right place at the right time, and he’s making it happen for us. He’s got a mean right foot and he can use both. He’s a quick, little guy. He’s so low to the ground and he’s so quick. If he gets by that first defender, he’s letting it fly.”

“If he keeps this up, (Rayas has) got a chance to be the (career goals) leader, especially once we get him in the weight room,” Hinshaw added. “He’s a great kid. He’ll talk your ear off. He’s funny and coachable.”

Davie absorbed a gut punch with eight minutes remaining. That’s when a Falcon headed in the game-winner.

“I thought it was going to end in a tie,” Rebollar said. “We lost a player in the middle of the box, and they were able to get a cross in and he scored.”

There was no shame in losing to a 2-A power that has gone 44-16-3 since 2019.

“Forbush always has a good program, so I knew it was going to be a battle with them,” Rebollar said. “We hung in there. The boys fought back hard. We had a couple chances at the end. (Davis) told me we don’t give up, we hustle and we don’t stop, which is awesome to hear from somebody like Seth, who is kind of like a mentor to me.”

Nick Ruff was one of the better players on the field. Rebollar has a scrappy underdog with Mason Tarbet and Alex Tarbet playing the wings, Ruff and Rayas as center mids and Karson Yount, Will Davis, Peter Marks and Hector Solis-Romero as defenders.

“I changed the formation up and gave Nick a little more freedom to go up or press back,” Rebollar said. “He did really good.”

ND 3, Davie 1

Davie trailed 2-1 at halftime at North Davidson on Aug. 30 and could not mount a rally. M. Tarbet had the goal. The Black Knights, who lost 3-0 to Glenn, improved to 3-1-1.

SC 2, Davie 1

Davie’s frustration multiplied in a 2-1 loss at Surry Central on Sept. 2.

With Surry ahead 2-0, Ruff scored with four minutes left with an assist from Yount. A fifth straight loss dropped Davie to 1-6.

“We missed two penalty kicks,” Hinshaw said. “Another (game) slipped away. We’re playing well, we just need to learn how to win.”

The Golden Eagles, who tied Glenn 2-2 and lost 1-0 to Reagan, improved to 1-2-1.