By Caleb Clendenning and Noah Jimison
As we start off the 2023 fall semester strong in the classroom, our student athletes look to do the same in game.
William Peace University looks to kick off the 2023 fall season with a total of nine teams, all with the same goal of becoming USA South champions.
Men’s Soccer
First, the men’s soccer team, which was ranked second in the USA South preseason poll, opened its season Sept. 1 in a home game against Averett, ending in a draw of 1-1.
“Playing Averett university was an amazing first test for them as a team,” said midfielder Josiah Caronna, a senior marketing major. “From the beginning, they knew they were going to find some key aspects of who they were before the game, but couldn’t predict how it would be to play out by any means.”
In the second half of the Averett game, the Pacers went up 2-1 after Caronna scored the goal at 71:07.
“Overall we learned a lot about the things we needed to capitalize on and then areas they still need improvement for going forward,” Caronna said.
On Sept. 5, the team fell to Virginia-based Bridgewater College. Their next game is today at home against Guilford College.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team was ranked 5th in the USA South preseason poll and kicked off their season with a dominating win over Warren Wilson 5-0. They continued their hot streak on Sept. 2, with a 2-1 win over Johnson & Wales, and tied Regent University Wednesday.
The team looks to keep their streak rolling as they look forward to the next match against Hollins University at home on Sept. 9.
Cross Country
The men’s and women’s cross country teams also kicked off their season Sept. 1 at the N. C.Wesleyan University Classic. For the men, sophomore Sharif Blount came in fourth overall, and on the women’s side, senior Caitlin Bobbitt came in eighth overall.
The team looks forward to continuing their season today, when they head to UNCW for the MXC.
Volleyball
After the volleyball team was ranked second in the USA South preseason poll last year, they kicked off their season by traveling to the Margie Knight Classic in Maryland. The team won two of their three matches during the classic.
The team has their home opener today is a quad-match at home with Virginia Wesleyan University, Bridgewater and Piedmont University.
Golf
The golf team also looks to have an exceptional season with four matches set for the fall season starting on Sept. 17.
Esports
The final WPU fall sport is a relatively new one to the program. The esports team has four new teams that they are bringing to the school’s program.
The esports team has expanded by adding a rocket league team and competing at the esports national championships.
One of our WPU esports teams is Overwatch, which consists of two teams: A Team and B Team, as do the two Rocket League teams. The last esport team added to the program this year is a Super Smash Bros team.