Soccer continues to evolve as the season progresses
Published Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at 1:40 p.m.
- Once the player hits the ground, senior Kim Torres clears the ball. – Photo by Marnick Lewis
Brian Pitts
Company track record
The Reagan University soccer team is 12-2 and remains in second place in the Central Piedmont Conference. The fact that Davie played the Raiders 2-1, 1-0 after the loss speaks volumes about his state of mind.
The overtime game against Reynolds on April 17 also resulted in a 1-1 tie. Davie lost the first match 0-1. The matchup in Winston-Salem lasted 100 minutes, with Lanna Robinson scoring her 13th goal of the season, the most in nine years.
Robinson scored his first goal of the game with 10 minutes remaining. Sara Andrade's corner kick sparked the fire.
“Sarah takes corner kicks and puts us in the right spots,” coach Corbin Kopetsky said. “She worked hard for me for three years. Caroline Mitchell hit it, but it hit Lanna Robinson in the thigh and went into the back of the net.”
Davie grabbed a bad break with 1:30 left in regulation. Robinson was called for a foul and the Demons took the free kick, forcing OT.
“There were doubts (about the conference call), but we have to go with them,” Kopetsky said. “It was a nail-biter. It was a little heartbreaking.”
Davey received a big boost from senior Maddie Hayes.
“A player collapsed and had to miss the rest of the game,” Kopetsky said. “Maddy moved in at right-back. She defended herself against outstanding players and did what she had to do. She improved a lot under my guidance. She started the game about 10 minutes ago. She came on in minutes and played 90 minutes straight. She rose to the occasion and made some big plays.”
It was a great night for sophomore goalie Aubrey Pulaski.
“Aubrey made some out-of-this-world saves in regulation and overtime,” he said. “Her potential is off the charts.”
The girls worked incredibly well together and created an up-and-coming team.
“These girls are trapped,” he said. “They have a goal of making it to the postseason. It's happened eight times in school history. We had to do everything we could to make sure we didn't walk away with a loss. We've played great team ball all season. There's a lot to say. I'm really proud of this team.”
East 3, Davie 0
Things didn't go well in East Forsyth. The teams tied 1-1 on March 18, but on April 22 at Kernersville, East (6-6-2) got back to .500 at Davie's expense.
Regan 1, Davey 0
In a home game on April 24, the score was 0-0 at halftime, but Davey hit a shot to beat Reagan for the first time in 28 tries. Unfortunately that didn't happen.
“They took shots from just outside the 18 area and took advantage of that,” Kopetsky said.
On the bright side, Pulaski once again shined in goal and Davie (5-6-2 overall, 2-6-2 CPC) made Reagan sweat.
“Aubrey made a great play in goal,” he said. “She made some really high-quality saves that made her more competitive in her game.
“We were a better team than the first day and the first time we played each other. We kept fighting throughout the game and never gave up.”
Note: Robinson's 13 goals are the most since Claire Devereaux's 14 in 2015.
