‘Everybody fought until the end’: Catawba Ridge soccer falls short of 1st state title
Maren White was ready to celebrate.
With fewer than 10 minutes to go, and with the Catawba Ridge girls’ soccer team down one in the 4A state championship game on Saturday afternoon in Irmo, White sprinted to catch a pass down the right side of the field and dribbled her way into the box.
She then made one defender miss to force a one-on-one with the James Island goalkeeper, and then — the second-half-clock dwindling into the final 10 minutes, Catawba Ridge’s equal parts dominant and magical season in the balance — she launched a promising left-legged shot toward the net.
The ball sailed past the goalkeeper — then, just feet from the goal line, James Island defender Olyvia Briggs headed the ball away and cleared it free.
The Copperheads wouldn’t get a better shot on goal the rest of the game. Minutes later, with the final score of 1-0 posted on the scoreboard, the team from Fort Mill looked on from a quieter sideline as their James Island (21-1) opponents hoisted a state championship trophy.
“I thought it was in,” White told reporters after the game, still a bit in disbelief. “I had no idea that girl was on the back post. I mean, I almost started cheering for it. And then she just appeared there, and it’s unfortunate we didn’t get it. I really wish we would’ve gotten it.”
The Catawba Ridge girls’ soccer team (15-2) — a program at a school that opened in the fall of 2019 but didn’t experience a full spring sports season until 2021 because of COVID — had hoped to depart from Irmo with the first state championship for any team in the school’s brief but robust athletic history. Saturday marked Catawba Ridge’s second loss of the season.
“These girls, everybody fought until the end,” White said. “We made it to the state championship, so we obviously did something right. And I’m just so proud of everybody.”
The win delivered James Island’s girls’ soccer team (22-1) the program’s first state championship, per South Carolina High School League records.
How Catawba Ridge got here
Catawba Ridge’s run to the state championship game wasn’t surprising.
For a time, in fact, it wasn’t clear if the Copperheads were going to be challenged: They won their first five games — all against 4A and 5A opponents — by a combined score of 61-1, and didn’t experience a game with a one-score margin until mid-April, when it defeated Indian Land, 1-0.
By then, of course, they had already clinched the Region 3-4A crown.
That said, Catawba Ridge’s trek through the playoffs did not mirror its flawless roll in the regular season. The team defeated Greenville (4-0) and AC Flora (3-0), yes — but in the Upper State final, it needed an overtime goal from senior and North-South selection Emma Sexton to defeat Eastside, 1-0.
In a way, Catawba Ridge’s first full season reflected two different ones: The regular season showcased their talent; the playoffs proved their toughness.
And they’d need that toughness on Saturday.
The first half appeared to belong to James Island. The team from Charleston largely controlled possession and had several promising first-half chances. One shot was particularly close: Off a corner kick in the final 10 minutes of the first half, a beautiful ball found James Island’s Lily Ray on the fly, but her header nailed the cross bar and was eventually cleared by the Copperheads defense.
The first half ended scoreless.
In the second half, Catawba Ridge seemed to settle a bit. But James Island’s offensive pursuit didn’t stop. The team from Charleston eventually finished off an opportunity with about 20 minutes left in the game — via a Kayla McGary shot from the top of the box that banged off the right goalpost and bounced into the net.
But the Copperheads wouldn’t quit. The field started opening up in the final 20 minutes for them, and they even had some opportunities late — but none were better than White’s aforementioned shot.
Then came the final whistle. The hugs and cheers and screams on one side. The tears on the other.
“I know I have some amazing seniors,” head coach Brandon Schmidt told reporters postgame. “And they poured everything they had out there. And I’m so proud of them.”
‘They know who we are now’
After the trophy presentation, the Catawba Ridge team stood in a circle, their arms around each other. They do this “after every half” of soccer they play, senior Paige Bell said.
They were saying how proud of each other they were.
“We have a little team ritual,” Bell said. “We do affirmations before every single half. So we were just reminding ourselves that we are good soccer players and to not let this keep our heads down.”
These affirmations guided them all season. They helped keep the team grounded and focused and together and hungry when they were winning by double-digits earlier this season.
And they helped bring perspective after the team’s toughest loss of the season — one that punctuated one of the best seasons in Catawba Ridge history.
“I think coming into this game, we were kind of the underdog,” Bell said. “We didn’t have a season last year. We just played a couple scrimmages. So coming all the way to the state championship is huge. We set a huge precedent, and we made a name for ourselves. We’re a brand new school, and people know who we are now.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2021 at 7:33 PM.
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