Our Fall Sports seasons are fully underway! We have had several games now for the soccer, field hockey, and volleyball teams, as well as a cross-country meet under the lights in Richmond!

Field Hockey Wins vs. Toano, Drops Contests Versus Richmond Club Team and Norfolk Collegiate

WCA started off their season with a win versus nearby Toano Middle school. 8th-grade goalie Sophia Lee shutout Toano while Bekah Kish and Ally Rodenberg powered the offense to victory. In two following contests versus Norfolk Collegiate and club team Richmond Panthers, the Eagles were unable to capitalize on offensive opportunities, but were kept in both contests with stout defense by Maddy Moran and Lydia Segal and outstanding goalie play by Lee, falling 2-0 in both games. The team will get a rematch against Norfolk Collegiate at home on Monday Septemeber 23rd at 4:30PM.

Soccer Scores Big Win Before Injury Bug Bites

The varsity soccer team started the season with a declarative win versus new conference rival Guardian Christian Academy by a score of 8-2. Perennial all-conference player Jalen Vaughan was the high scorer with a tremendous 5 goal performance, while Luca Alberts contributed 2 goals and Joel Pho rounded out the scoring. The team has recently encountered significant injuries that have depleted the ability of the team to go the bench at all, and propelled some bench players into starting roles. This lack of depth turned a 1-1 hard-fought game against Richmond Christian into a 6-1 score at the half as WCA’s players fell victim to several exhaustion-fueled errors. The team showed grit by rebounding to keep the game a scoreless tie in the second half. Please offer up prayers for quick healing for several dinged up players as the team returns to action Friday, Septemeber 27th for a road game versus Grove Christian at 4PM.

Cross-Country Competes in School’s First-Ever Meet

The official inaugural season of the WCA Cross Country team traveled to Richmond to race under the lights in Mechanicsville at the Milestat Relays. The young team posted several outstanding finishes, including a 5th place medal for 5th grader Daisy Marlowe in the Elementary school division. The WCA middle school boys team finished well on the strength of three top twenty finishes:  a 10th place finish by 8th grader Jack Marlowe, and 7th graders Joe Dill and Julian LaPastora were 11th and 19th respectively. On the High School side, Jacob Thibeault finished in the top third of the field in his first-ever race action. “I am so proud of all these kids and have seen immeasurable improvement since the beginning of practices when many would have difficulty completing a full distance set. Runners like Cillian (Clapp) and Faith (Davenport) are now powering through the entire race as we saw Saturday night,” remarked head coach and WCA athletic director Pam Gibbons.

Volleyball Winless But Improving

The WCA volleyball program has been in a fragile state since the last club volleyball players came within one game of winning the Metro Conference crown three years ago. With just a few players on the bench, the team has had difficulties in the past fielding a full squad, nevermind competing with high-level programs from Stonebridge and Atlantic Shores. This season, despite the fact that WCA has not won a match, there is renewed energy around the program as the team not only has sufficient players for a varsity team, but is fielding a JJV team as well. As none of our players are club players, each year they are freshly building on the past year’s skills. The team, according to Coach Shannon Meyyar is steadily improving in the VMAC, which is loaded up with solid volleyball talent as well. In their most recent match, they seized the first set versus Grace Christian School, highlighted by several service aces by senior Isabell Comber, before surrendering the following three sets. The team had been solidly defeated by Grace Christian earlier in the season in tournament play. The team was also very competitive in a loss to Richmond Christian four days prior. The key to the improved play was most notably the camaraderie that has developed among Comber and fellow seniors Nandi Davis and Kailey Watson as well as junior Carly Bruck. Sophomore Maddy Moran has also become a menacing defensive blocking threat at the net. The Eagles will next take on Christchurch on the road at 4PM, on Tuesday, September 24th.