Ravenscroft Invitational gives Triangle NCISAA teams a true test
By Ian Pierno
Correspondent
RALEIGH
Several of the top boys’ soccer teams in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association gave a sneak preview of what could be future playoff match-ups during the 44th annual Ravenscroft Soccer Invitational in Raleigh – the longest-running soccer tournament in North Carolina.
Local teams, including Cary Academy, North Raleigh Christian, St. David’s and host Ravenscroft, got to square off against their regional rivals while also getting a look at out-of-area teams such as Charlotte Latin, Charlotte Christian, Arden’s Christ School and eventual champion Coastal Christian out of Wilmington.
Regardless of the results, each area coach cited the tournament’s value early in the season. Many players had to take the ACT on Saturday morning, allowing teams to test their depth against quality competition.
CARY ACADEMY
After a thrilling win on Thursday, Cary Academy gave up three goals to Christ School on Thursday and four unanswered goals to Charlotte Christian on Saturday to end its undefeated run to start the year. However, there were still a lot of positives in the eyes of coach Jeff Costa.
“You get to rotate bodies and see people who may normally be buried on your bench have an important role to fill,” Costa said.
Costa cited Ryan Scott, George Adanuty and Iain Wright as players who stood out to him during the tournament.
The NCISAA postseason seeding is decided upon by a committee, so Costa was happy to see his team get some head-to-head games against who his squad will be jostling against for a top playoff seed.
“We’ll be judged against teams like the ones we saw here,” Costa said.
He wasn’t specific about what goals have changed, but Costa noted the team’s outlook has changed since the preseason after getting to play competitive matches early in the year.
“You never know coming out of the preseason what everyone else is going to look like and I just feel like we can be as good as we want to be,” he said. “If we find our level of consistency, we should be able to compete with everybody.”
ST. DAVID’S
Despite dropping all three of its games, St. David’s coach Jose Cornejo said his team’s outlook for the season hasn’t changed. If anything, it leaves more room to reach the team’s goals.
“Be better at the end of the year than we are now, that’s always our goal,” Cornejo said. “We never talked about conference or states – it’s ‘Are you going to be better? Are you going to be a better person? Are you going to make you teammates better?’”
He added that the tournament was a learning experience, but a positive one.
“Some of the younger guys had an opportunity to contribute and we talked about using this as an experience we can learn from and move forward,” Cornejo said. “The young guys stepped up. The score doesn’t matter. They just tried.”
Striker John White and center midfielder Matt McLaughlin were a duo that stood out to their coach.
The Warriors nearly took down Charlotte Christian on Thursday, but allowed two goals in the final two minutes of regulation.
RAVENSCROFT
Ravenscroft coach Alix Charles enjoyed getting the opportunity to work his team out on its own turf despite two heartbreaking losses.
“It means a lot. We have a young team and we went out and did well … and it was a very good performance for these young boys,” he said. “I’m proud of the tournament and what it represents for these boys.”
Ravenscroft overcame a 2-0 deficit to send its first game against Coastal Christian – who later won the tournament – to penalty kicks. Knowing that the Ravens can compete against top-flight opponents bodes well for the rest of their season.
“Those big games help us quite a bit, they make us tougher, stronger,” Charles said. “We have character. We’re down 2-0 in the first game and we comeback and almost go forward. This team’s character is outstanding.”
Charles praised his team’s depth and willingness to come off the bench and contribute.
NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN
North Raleigh Christian doesn’t normally schedule long trips for away games, so events like the Ravenscroft Soccer Invitational give it a chance compare where they stand amongst teams in the entire state.
“It’s great, it gives us a chance to see teams from the west and teams that’ll be in the playoffs,” NRCA coach Ed Pinon said. “For instance, Thursday we played Christ School and we don’t schedule games four hours away. We get to see teams early … and seeing what everyone has.”
He continued: “Our goal is to win a state championship … and this gave us an idea of how we stack up against those other teams.”
North Raleigh Christian has been a member of the tournament for consecutive 17 years.
“We have to take it one day at a time and challenge ourselves to improve, take it one game at a time get better every single time,” Pinon said.
Junior striker William Welch’s aggressiveness on the ball caught the eye of his coach, as did the mature play of eight grader Connor Cabpt, who’s normally on the junior varsity squad.
“The nice thing about our guys, though, is we have 20 guys who can all play,” Pinon added. “We have an all-star cast.”
Area results
CARY ACADEMY
vs. Charlotte Latin W 5-4 in OT (Thurs.)
vs. Christ School L 3-0 (Fri.)
vs. Charlotte Christian L 5-3 (Sat.)
ST. DAVID’S
vs. Charlotte Christian L 4-3 (Thurs.)
vs. Ravenscroft L 5-0 (Fri.)
vs. Charlotte Latin L 7-2 (Sat.)
RAVENSCROFT
vs. Coastal Christian L 2-2, 3-5 in PKs (Thurs.)
vs. St. David’s W 5-0 (Fri.)
vs. North Raleigh Christian (Sat.) L 4-3
NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN
vs. Christ School L 2-1 (Thu.)
vs. Charlotte Latin W 2-1 (Fri.)
vs. Ravenscroft W 4-3 (Sat.)
By Ian Pierno
Correspondent
RALEIGH
Several of the top boys’ soccer teams in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association gave a sneak preview of what could be future playoff match-ups during the 44th annual Ravenscroft Soccer Invitational in Raleigh – the longest-running soccer tournament in North Carolina.
Local teams, including Cary Academy, North Raleigh Christian, St. David’s and host Ravenscroft, got to square off against their regional rivals while also getting a look at out-of-area teams such as Charlotte Latin, Charlotte Christian, Arden’s Christ School and eventual champion Coastal Christian out of Wilmington.
Regardless of the results, each area coach cited the tournament’s value early in the season. Many players had to take the ACT on Saturday morning, allowing teams to test their depth against quality competition.
CARY ACADEMY
After a thrilling win on Thursday, Cary Academy gave up three goals to Christ School on Thursday and four unanswered goals to Charlotte Christian on Saturday to end its undefeated run to start the year. However, there were still a lot of positives in the eyes of coach Jeff Costa.
“You get to rotate bodies and see people who may normally be buried on your bench have an important role to fill,” Costa said.
Costa cited Ryan Scott, George Adanuty and Iain Wright as players who stood out to him during the tournament.
The NCISAA postseason seeding is decided upon by a committee, so Costa was happy to see his team get some head-to-head games against who his squad will be jostling against for a top playoff seed.
“We’ll be judged against teams like the ones we saw here,” Costa said.
He wasn’t specific about what goals have changed, but Costa noted the team’s outlook has changed since the preseason after getting to play competitive matches early in the year.
“You never know coming out of the preseason what everyone else is going to look like and I just feel like we can be as good as we want to be,” he said. “If we find our level of consistency, we should be able to compete with everybody.”
ST. DAVID’S
Despite dropping all three of its games, St. David’s coach Jose Cornejo said his team’s outlook for the season hasn’t changed. If anything, it leaves more room to reach the team’s goals.
“Be better at the end of the year than we are now, that’s always our goal,” Cornejo said. “We never talked about conference or states – it’s ‘Are you going to be better? Are you going to be a better person? Are you going to make you teammates better?’”
He added that the tournament was a learning experience, but a positive one.
“Some of the younger guys had an opportunity to contribute and we talked about using this as an experience we can learn from and move forward,” Cornejo said. “The young guys stepped up. The score doesn’t matter. They just tried.”
Striker John White and center midfielder Matt McLaughlin were a duo that stood out to their coach.
The Warriors nearly took down Charlotte Christian on Thursday, but allowed two goals in the final two minutes of regulation.
RAVENSCROFT
Ravenscroft coach Alix Charles enjoyed getting the opportunity to work his team out on its own turf despite two heartbreaking losses.
“It means a lot. We have a young team and we went out and did well … and it was a very good performance for these young boys,” he said. “I’m proud of the tournament and what it represents for these boys.”
Ravenscroft overcame a 2-0 deficit to send its first game against Coastal Christian – who later won the tournament – to penalty kicks. Knowing that the Ravens can compete against top-flight opponents bodes well for the rest of their season.
“Those big games help us quite a bit, they make us tougher, stronger,” Charles said. “We have character. We’re down 2-0 in the first game and we comeback and almost go forward. This team’s character is outstanding.”
Charles praised his team’s depth and willingness to come off the bench and contribute.
NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN
North Raleigh Christian doesn’t normally schedule long trips for away games, so events like the Ravenscroft Soccer Invitational give it a chance compare where they stand amongst teams in the entire state.
“It’s great, it gives us a chance to see teams from the west and teams that’ll be in the playoffs,” NRCA coach Ed Pinon said. “For instance, Thursday we played Christ School and we don’t schedule games four hours away. We get to see teams early … and seeing what everyone has.”
He continued: “Our goal is to win a state championship … and this gave us an idea of how we stack up against those other teams.”
North Raleigh Christian has been a member of the tournament for consecutive 17 years.
“We have to take it one day at a time and challenge ourselves to improve, take it one game at a time get better every single time,” Pinon said.
Junior striker William Welch’s aggressiveness on the ball caught the eye of his coach, as did the mature play of eight grader Connor Cabpt, who’s normally on the junior varsity squad.
“The nice thing about our guys, though, is we have 20 guys who can all play,” Pinon added. “We have an all-star cast.”
Area results
CARY ACADEMY
vs. Charlotte Latin W 5-4 in OT (Thurs.)
vs. Christ School L 3-0 (Fri.)
vs. Charlotte Christian L 5-3 (Sat.)
ST. DAVID’S
vs. Charlotte Christian L 4-3 (Thurs.)
vs. Ravenscroft L 5-0 (Fri.)
vs. Charlotte Latin L 7-2 (Sat.)
RAVENSCROFT
vs. Coastal Christian L 2-2, 3-5 in PKs (Thurs.)
vs. St. David’s W 5-0 (Fri.)
vs. North Raleigh Christian (Sat.) L 4-3
NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN
vs. Christ School L 2-1 (Thu.)
vs. Charlotte Latin W 2-1 (Fri.)
vs. Ravenscroft W 4-3 (Sat.)