An overtime goal in the 87th minute by Fort Mill’s Carter Eppes allowed the Jackets to edge the Indian Land Warriors in the second round of the 5A Division II playoffs.
Fort Mill beat the Warriors 3-2 in overtime to advance to the third round of the playoffs where they will travel to Catawba Ridge on Wednesday, May 13. Fort Mill improved to 11-6 on the season.
It’s not like the Fort Mill boys’ soccer team didn’t know their opponents well. Fort Mill and Indian Land were meeting for the fourth time this season with the Warriors holding a 2-1 advantage. The two met in February with the Warriors winning and then in March with Indian Land squeezing by in overtime. Fort Mill picked up a 4-1 win in April.
“With soccer it doesn’t matter how many times you play each other because it becomes tricky,” said Fort Mill boys head coach Henry Kalungi. “We have been working hard on our chances, we just need to work on finishing.”
Fort Mill got a free kick about 90 seconds into the match which was a little high but came back less than a minute later to bang a shot off the top of the crossbar.
The Jackets continue to be aggressive on offense and got their first corner kick at the six-minute mark. After an aggressive start by Fort Mill, both teams settled into a rhythm and traded possessions for the next several minutes.
Fort Mill got a couple good looks at the goal midway through the first half, but still was unable to find the back of the net. The Jackets continued to pepper the ball towards the goal as they controlled possession more and more.
Despite not controlling possession as much, Indian Land went up 1-0 in the 37th minute off a free kick.
Then in the 38th minute, Fort Mill hit an equalizer as Gabriel Solis tied the match.
In the 46th minute, the Jackets had another good look at the goal, yet wasn’t able to score. They had a free kick about three minutes later, but again was off target.
Indian Land went ahead 2-1 off a rebound on a free kick in the 52nd minute. Things started to get chippy between the two teams as the second half wore on with each team getting free kicks.
A header from Cam Kubitz off a Chase Fandel corner kick for Fort Mill tied the match at two in the 64th minute, before chaos broke out with pushing and shoving leading to yellow cards flying.
Fort Mill kept control of the ball after things got sorted out as they picked up their shots. In the last five minutes of regulation, the Jackets had two corner kicks but was unable to score as the game went to overtime.
May 9 Roundup
The Nation Ford baseball team beat Easley 7-4 to open the 5A Division II playoffs. They improved to 17-10 on the season and will now play at Indian Land on Monday, May 11. Alex Smith went 2-2 with four RBI to lead Nation Ford. Michai Prowsior and Michael Blum each had two hits as well for the Falcons. Carter Powell got the win going six and a third innings allowing four runs on five hits, while walking four and striking out six.
The Catawba Ridge baseball team fell 2-1 to Eastside High School in their 5A Division II playoff opener. The Copperheads had just two hits with Tyler Causey and Jack Provenzano each getting hits for the team. The loss drops them to 17-10 overall. Catawba Ridge will play at Hillcrest on Monday, May 11.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
