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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

The Davie JV soccer team’s season-opening win over West Iredell wasn’t a fluke. In the first two games, including a 3-0 win at Alexander Central on Aug. 29, the War Eagles have been exorcising years of demons.

Why did the 2-0 start feel amazing? Davie went 2-51-4 from 2019-22, including 1-16-3 last year in the first year of the Scott McBain rebuild. Just like that, Davie has the most wins since going 5-14-2 in 2018.

“Every player got a chance to contribute,” coach McBain said after Davie handed the Cougars (1-1-2) their first loss. “It takes a team to win and there were many good performances building up to each shot and goal scored.

“The games will get tougher as we progress, but we are off to a good start.”

The coach gushed about Hector Rodriguez, who scored all three goals in the first half. He did not play in the second half.

“I have played and coached for over 60 years,” McBain said. “Hector is one of the few to be able to target a spot and nail it with perfection. He’s a little man with loads of power.

Also give credit to defenders Ezra Regalado, Jaxon Cruse and Eric Martinez; goalies David Fishel and Porter Spann; and midfielder Hunter Stephens.

“We had a solid defense,” he said. “Both goal keepers made some made-for-TV saves. Hunter assisted our goal scorer.”

Forbush 2, Davie 1

Davie was not able to build off the W. Iredell/Alexander Central wins when it visited Forbush on Aug. 31. It fell behind 2-0 and lost 2-1.

The War Eagles got on the board when Andy Longares sank a lob shot over the goalie’s head. They knocked the Falcons on their heels in the last 10 minutes, but Davie suffered unlucky bounces.

“We never quit,” McBain said. “We pummeled the goal in the last few minutes. Isaiah Beaty had three good opportunities but came up short.

“The game was a hard-fought loss and very balanced. Both teams played well. It could have gone either way.”

Notes: Davie’s varsity lost 2-0 at Alexander Central and 3-0 at Forbush. Davie remained winless at 0-5.

Davie 3, SC 1

The War Eagles resumed their memorable start by whipping Surry Central at home on Sept. 4.

Beaty, Kevin Ramos and Longares knocked in the goals as Davie improved to 3-1. Regaldo, Devin Hernandez and Stephens were “the stars for their defense and passing,” McBain said. Another dynamic player was Jaden Godbey, who controlled the midfield.

The only negative: Davie could have won by a greater margin.

“We had lots of missed opportunities to score,” he said. “We’ll need to go back to the drawing board. We had a couple out with the flu going around. Some stars sat the bench ill.”

Notes: Davie’s varsity lost 4-3 to Surry Central. Freshman Santiago Maganda and junior Alex Del Carmen staked Davie to a 2-1 halftime lead. Maganda put in his second goal in the second half. Justin Rayas had two assists, while Rafael Amaro had one. The Golden Eagles improved to 4-3-1. Davie’s offense came alive after scoring one goal in the first five games. … In the CPC opener, Davie hung tough in the first half but ultimately lost 4-0 at Reynolds on Sept. 6. The Demons scored three times in the second half to lift their record to 5-2-2 overall. Davie sank to 0-7.