BOILING SPRINGS, SC - With a coolness in the air and a large crowd in the stands, the Boiling Springs boys soccer team accomplished a feat that hasn't occured in almost thirty years with a 1-0 victory over the Byrnes Rebels on Tuesday night.
The region championship is the first one for the Bulldogs program since 1994 and the first outright region championship since 1983. Although it's his first region championship as the head coach, it's not the first time Boiling Springs head coach Jack Underwood has been a part of this feat as he was an assistant on the 1994 team and a ballboy for the 1983 team. "For various reasons Boiling Springs has struggled with region championships despite having good teams over the years," said Underwood. "It's a tough thing to do to beat everyone twice and get the points needed to win. This group is a consistent one that plays hard and don't have off nights. I put a lot of bench guys in and they play just as hard as our starters which is a trait that makes me look forward to what they can do in the playoffs." Boiling Springs senior Josh Bravo said that winning the region championship is huge for the team and when the whistle sounded to end the match he say the feeling was unreal. "I feel blessed to be able to win this championship and being with these guys the last four years," said Bravo. "We've worked hard for this championship the last four years and it paid off. When that final whistle blew, we got so hyped up and ran to celebrate with all these fans, we love seeing everyone out here supporting us and we're just blessed." The match saw both teams battle back-and-forth in the first half as the Bulldogs controlled the possession but the Rebels were able to get some shots which were all corralled by the Bulldogs defense as sophomore goalie Diego Martinez had five first half saves as both teams went into halftime tied at 0-0. In the second half Boiling Springs once again controlled the possession of the game making numerous runs at the goal and even having one goal taken away from an offsides call. Boiling Springs finally found the back of the net when they made a run down the left side of the field when junior Val Bytyai made a pass across the field that found senior Roger Ocampo who made a right footed shot that went from right to left crossing over the hands of the leaping goalie to take a 1-0 lead at the eighteen minute mark of the second half. Byrnes tried to make a run over the last seventeen minutes of the match but the Bulldogs ability to keep possession, something that Underwood preaches to his team, kept the Rebels from finding a goal in the final minutes. "I'm a soccer coach and I like to control the game and whatever team controls the midfield controls the game," said Underwood. "Traditionally I work on defense and work my way forward but this year I wanted to score more goals and control the midfield every time we stepped on the field. A great deal of our early season work was on the midfield and I now have a good rotational group that can really change things up in the game." While it's a special victory for Underwood as a coach, it's also a little bit more special for him because he also is an alumni of the school. "I grew up and lived in Boiling Springs my whole life and it's a place near and dear to my heart," said Underwood. "Being an alumni it allows me to take a bigger picture of the situation and I wanted to bring more of my style, which is a college type style of play, to the high school level. Coming from many years of watching Boiling Springs struggle when I got asked to take on the job I gladly accepted." Underwood said that the recent success of his program along with the success of the girls' team is part of him and Coach Kerr trying to make soccer success a tradition around Boiling Springs. "We want soccer to be a tradition and a culture here at Boiling Springs," said Underwood. "Winning a region championship and going deep into the playoffs, we want that to be a common occurrence and not something we do every couple of years just because we just so happen to have some decent players." After winning the region championship, Boiling Springs now assures themselves of two home games as long as they keep winning and Underwood said that the playoff style fits his team while being at home will be a benefit to his team because it means no long road trips. "With the playoffs it's a clean slate as nobody really knows your team," said Underwood. "I like that style because I put my guys on the field and let them control the game and we go from there. Getting to play at home means we don't have to travel as that's big because going on the road two hours is a tough ask of a team." Boiling Springs will start their playoff road at home on Monday (May 1st) where they will host the number five seed from Region III-5A, which looked to be Spring Valley. GIRLS SOCCER - Boiling Springs 4 Byrnes 2 While the boys' soccer team was at home winning the region championship, the Bulldogs girls soccer team went on the road to defeat the Byrnes Rebels 4-2 to lock up the number two seed from Region II-5A. The victory means that both the boys and girls soccer teams will be hosting first round playoff games as the girls team will host their matchup on Tuesday night (May 2nd) against the number three seed from Region III-5A, which appears to be Fort Mill. Comments are closed.
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