St. Andrew's College 1st Soccer kicked off 2026 with a 1–1 weekend in Ohio versus a pair of teams noted in Sports Illustrated's pre-season US national prep school rankings.
On Saturday, SAC scored a pair of rain-soaked second half goals en route to a comfortable 2-0 win at Andrews Osborne Academy (OH).
The Saints were on the front foot from the opening whistle, with seniors Heris Ziai '27 (Sandys, Bermuda), Dylan Mahoney '27 (St. John's, NL) and Jackson Mahoney '27 (St. John's, NL) all being denied by some outstanding AOA goalkeeping. At the stroke of halftime, winger Joshua Shi '27 (Stouffville, ON) also had a point-blank opportunity, which sailed just high.
SAC got on the board with a back-post volley from new 1st Teamer Santiago Bracamontes Lance '29 (Mexico City, Mexico) via a Ziai assist, while Dylan Mahoney sealed the victory 1 minutes later with a header off a Merek Husack '27 (Calgary, AB) delivery. Joseph Corsetti '28 (King City, ON) and Raistlan Evans '27 (Edmonton, AB) shared the clean sheet, with Corsetti making a lunging save to keep AOA off the board.
On Sunday, SAC ran into a determined Western Reserve Academy (OH), falling 3-0 to their hosts.
The Saints almost got on the board first, with Enzo Han '27 (Richmond Hill, ON) curling a ball back post that was just cleared off the line by the WRA defence. SAC conceded their first goal on a set piece and a second through a sloppy midfield giveaway to fall behind 2-0 after 40 minutes.
Second-half substitute Gabe Covello '28 (King City, ON) almost halved the advantage, only to see his whipped strike find the fingertips of the WRA goalkeeper. With the Saints pressing forward, WRA scored on the counter with just five minutes to play to put the match out of reach.
Defenders Nick Alexander '27 (Sudbury, ON) and Michael Madeiros '27 (Hamilton, Bermuda) were rock solid in defence, with new boy Daniel Carter '28 (Coquitlam, BC) also providing some solid minutes out of the gate for our back four.
Returners Luscien Yu '29 (Shanghai, China), Jah'Zion Taylor '27 (Pembroke, Bermuda) and Alex Wang '29 (Beijing, China) provided plenty of spark to the SAC attack, with newcomers Daniel Beek '29 (Kingston, Jamaica), Santiago Davino De Las Fuentes '28 (Mexico City, Mexico), David Ileleji '27 (East Gwillimbury, ON) and Duncan Ramon '29 (Aurora, ON) all set to make a major impact.
Up next for SAC Soccer is one more pre-season friendly. This time on their home turf at Yuill Field on Saturday, September 19 versus Montreal's Selwyn House.
Go Saints!
Upcoming Action:
Sat Sept 19 - SAC 1st Soccer vs Selwyn House (QC), 10am (Yuill Field)
