Charleston Collegiate beats The King's Academy 5-0 for SCISA Class A boys soccer title
Sun Devils send out 10 seniors with second straight championship
Columbia – Charleston Collegiate managed to survive its semifinal match against Marlboro Academy in the SCISA Class A boys soccer state playoffs on Friday winning by a 2-1 count.
There was a quick turnaround for the state championship match as the Sun Devils took on The King’s Academy less than 24 hours after beating Marlboro. Charleston Collegiate looked like a different team on Saturday, winning its second straight state title with a 5-0 victory at Hammond School’s Edens Stadium.
“Yesterday, honestly Marlboro was a tough opponent for us,” said Sun Devils head coach Alexander Roberts, who is in his first year in charge after serving as an assistant last year. “I’m glad we were able to pull it out. We had a different mindset. We were more refreshed.
“Today they were ready to be champions. Yesterday they were questioning themselves. I’m glad they were able to figure things out for themselves. “
Wyatt Clifford, who scored two goals for Charleston Collegiate along with fellow senior Anthony Gaines, said he and his teammates were more locked in on the task at hand.
“I’m just really proud of the boys,” said Clifford, who has been on the Sun Devil varsity team since the seventh grade. “After losing some key players last year and not letting that affect us, just getting right back into it is outstanding.
“We didn’t have as much of an edge as we needed to have against Marlboro. We had that today.”
The King’s Academy also played its semifinal match on Friday, beating Patrick Henry Academy 7-3 TKA head coach David Waugh said his team didn’t play in the same fashion on Saturday.
“It’s difficult to win two games (on) back to back (days),” he said. “We didn’t play the same as we did when we won yesterday. We did try to change a couple of things up. We were just never able to maintain what we did.
“Credit to the other team, They played a great game and deserved to be winners.”
The Sun Devils, who finished the year with an 11-6 record, controlled the pace of the match. They kept a steady amount of pressure on the Lions’ backline and goalkeeper Carter Matthews.
Charleston Collegiate got its first goal less than 10 minutes into the match. The Sun Devils’ Gaines came down the left side of the field and took a beautiful feed from eighth-grader Carlos Hernandez and put it in the back of the net with 31 minutes, 15 seconds, left in the 40-minute first half.
TKA, which finished with an 11-9 record, fended the Sun Devils off for a long stretch. Sophomore Caed Lovell and junior Parker Lynch helped turn away a rush at goal about midway through the half. The King’s had its best chance at scoring when K.C. Todd got free down the middle. However, senior goalkeeper Jack Turocy charged from the net and covered the ball before Todd could unload on a kick.
Charleston Collegiate took a 2-0 lead when Clifford went flying down the left side and retrieved a three-quarters-of-the-field pass from sophomore Lawson Hughes and turned it into a goal with 14:57 left in the first half.
That was the score at the half. It remained that way until Clifford scored at the 29:13 mark of the second half. Senior Aaron Jacques pushed the lead to 4-0 with 15:48 left, and Gaines got his second goal in stoppage.
Gaines said there couldn’t be a better way to close out his career.
“We definitely wanted to leave our senior year with a bang, go out and win,” Gaines said. “We didn’t want to disappoint our (seven) other seniors.
“It came down to the last minute yesterday, so we came into this game focused on trying to connect with each other, playing team ball, and it definitely helped us today.”
The other seniors besides Gaines, Clifford, Jacques and Turocy are Will Ravenel, Oscar Leighfield, Charles Hyleman, Luke Melton, Tekai Smiley and Holden Gantt.
The Lions are on the other end of the spectrum in regards to seniors. They have just two in Jackson Thomas and Elliot Elder.
“We started two eighth-graders three ninth-graders and only two seniors,” Waugh said. “The potential f9or the program is very strong. Last year we lost four seniors, and we weren’t really sure how we were going to be. We thought it was going to be a building thing, but we actually improved from last year (when TKA lost in the semifinals). This is a great thing for such a young team.”
This is the third consecutive season Charleston Collegiate has played for the state title. Roberts hopes this is just the first part of a long run of dominance.
“I’m super proud of these boys,” Roberts said. “Everything goes to them. We just wanted to continue the legacy that we had. I just told the boys it’s another day in the office. We need to get used to this.”
For the seniors though, this is it. That’s what makes it so special to Clifford and his fellow seniors.
“It just especially means something this year because I’m a senior,” said Clifford, who has been on the varsity since the seventh grade. “ I’ve been playing soccer since I was three years old. To close a chapter in my life, one that’s been a big part of my life my entire life, is special.”
