By Thomas Grant, Jr.
The Chapin Lady War Eagles came up a goal short at the Class 5A girls’ soccer final Friday at Memorial Stadium.
They lost to first-time champion Clover 2-1 in the championship. It was the Lady War Eagles’ first final appearance since 2017 and it was seeking its first title since 2016.
All three goals were scored in the first half.
Clover jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a penalty kick by Marilla Nieves in the third minute and a converted putback by Olivia Maurer.
At the 28th-minute mark, senior Darcy Ahern capitalized off the deflected inbound pass and sent the ball past the Clover goalkeeper to make it 2-1. It was her 27th goal.
The Lady War Eagles were unable to score in the second half to finish 23-3-2.
“My message is we’re still family,” Chapin head coach Chad Bridges said. “Family has good times. Family has bad times. We had a great season. This doesn’t diminish that. I’m super proud to be their coach. I’m super proud of these girls. I hate it we didn’t come through for our four seniors, but we have a very talented team coming back.
“Just like we talked about going to Wando two years ago and going other there and going there and doing what we needed to do. We made it to a state championship and we’ll be back. I honestly believe that. We have a lot of talent coming back and these girls are going to be still hungry to get that trophy.”
All-State Selections
The South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association released the 2024 All-State teams.
GIRLS – Darcy Ahern, Lilia Bowers and Sydney Stoner (all of Chapin), Adriana Dunat and Maggie Hehhernan (both of Lexington), Julia Sato and Ella Yarborough (both of River Bluff), Kinlee Mozley and Grace McGlocklin (both of Gilbert).
BOYS – Luke Hilton (Chapin), David Liboyi (Dutch Fork), Logan Watchinski (River Bluff) and Gavin Hardwick (Gilbert)
Photo by Ed Walker
