CLOVER – Despite classifications, two of the top prep boys’ soccer teams met Friday night to end both their regular seasons.
The No. 1 ranked 5A Clover Blue Eagles hosted No. 3 ranked 4A Catawba Ridge Copperheads. Clover came away with a 3-2 win in overtime with a score 75 seconds into the extra period, giving the Copperheads their second consecutive loss. Catawba Ridge fell to 17-4.
“It was a good battle,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Phillip McCarter. “I wanted to have really good competition to get us ready for the playoffs. This game could have went either way. Our goal was to compete. I think we did that. You never want to lose, but this was useful. I think we can build from it.”
The Copperheads will have a first-round bye next week when the playoffs start.
The two teams spent the first 10 minutes trying to figure each other out, while neither was able to establish a strong position on offense.
Clover did get a shot in goal about 10 minutes into the first half and then got a corner kick a couple of minutes later, both of which didn’t come close.
As the first half wore on, the Blue Eagles started controlling possessions more and were able to get several shot attempts in the open field and from corner kicks keeping Catawba Ridge keeper Liam Pendergast busy.
Offensively, the Copperheads struggled to get the ball past midfield on a consistent basis and didn’t spend much time on the attack.
Despite the early struggles, Catawba Ridge broke through first on a cross off a free shot as Angelo D’ Errico headed the ball past the Clover keeper in the 37th minute giving the Copperheads a 1-0 lead which they carried into the half.
Catawba Ridge came out with a little more fire to them, but Clover didn’t let the one goal stop them as the two teams battled for possessions.
The Blue Eagles were on the attack early in the second half looking to find the equalizer. That equalizer came at the 47th minute with a goal to tie the match. Two minutes later Clover took a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute on another cross.
Catawba Ridge tried pressing some and that led to Camden Griffin firing a shot wide right that would have tied things up.
Catawba Ridge would try to find seams, but the Blue Eagles were good at stacking the box.
In the 75th minute, Joshua Zawlocki tied the game with a little tap in after a scrum at the Blue Eagle net as Clover was trying to clear the ball.
That second equalizer would eventually send things into overtime.
April 26 Roundup
The Fort Mill baseball team beat the Carolina Royals 6-5 to finish the regular season at 20-6. Fort Mill had 10 hits in the game. Both JB Walters and John Dober had two hits each. Walters had two RBIs in the game. Playoffs start for the Jackets next week.
The Fort Mill softball team lost 5-1 to Indian Land in their regular season final. Natalie Razum led the Jackets at the plate going 2-2 and Ava DiPetro had the lone RBI for Fort Mill. The Jackets finished the regular season at 5-12. Playoffs start next week for Fort Mill.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
