Boy's Soccer | 5/15/2024 6:32:00 PM
Columbia, SC – Mission Accomplished.
The Oceanside Collegiate Academy boys' soccer team set a goal of returning to the SCHSL championship game in order to have a chance to defend the title they won last year. The Landsharks completed that mission on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The Landsharks used a suffocating defense on their way to a 18-0-1 record this spring, including a 3-0 victory against rival Gray Collegiate Academy to bring home the SCHSL Class AA state championship trophy for a second straight year.
But repeating as state champions was never easy mission to complete.
"We really had to do the same things, or even better, this year because we knew there was a target on our backs from last year," OCA head coach Connor Phillips said. "These guys worked hard all year and continued to believe in the things I was telling them, and we managed to pull through once again."
The Landsharks allowed just eight opposing goals all year, including just three since March 1, but were not able to put the ball in the goal against the War Eagles (27-6-3) until the 54
th minute of play when senior
Isaac Rasheed found the back of the net on a free kick from 20 yards out.
OCA pushed its lead to 2-0 in the 74
th minute when senior Matthais Dennis chipped in a perfect pass from classmate
Tylen Thomas from point-blank range to give the Landsharks some cushion.
Oceanside drove the final nail into another state title when freshman
Robert Hemingway scores in the 79
th minute to set the celebration in motion.
"We came into this season with high expectations and a lot on the line," Rasheed said. "Even with all the other teams seeing us as the top competition, we were still able to do it. Winning back-to-back means a lot to us. It shows that everything we worked on in practice paid off."
Phillips said his team played with discipline and determination all season, and that was on display in the championship game victory.
"Our guys played with discipline today," Phillips said. "Gray pressured us in the first half, and I think, once we scored that first goal, we seemed to relax and play better. We just needed that one score to give our kids the confidence they needed."
Gray coach Kevin Heise heaped praise on the Oceanside team as well.
"I think Oceanside is the best team in the state for the last two years," Heise said.
The Landsharks roster includes seven seniors for this season, but also has nine freshmen who saw playing time during the year. That bodes well as Oceanside moves up to Class AAA for 2025.
Five members of the squad earned All-State honors from the South Carolina Soccer Coaches Association. That group included Rasheed, junior keeper
Sean O'Neal, sophomore defender Jacob Cromedy, junior defender
Camden Danosky and junior midfielder
Ethan Duncan.
"When we came into this season, we talked about the target we would have on our backs," Phillips said. "We managed to go through the season undefeated because these guys worked so hard. We didn't rest on what we did last year."
In addition to all the players who will return to play at OCA next spring, several of the seniors will be moving on to play soccer in college.
Bradyn Cobb is signed to play at USC Upstate as is Gabe Conlin. Derek Anhaeuser and
Brady Engelking are moving on to play at Lander while
Maddock Griffith is going to Florida to play at Flagler College.
Roan Pottieger will be going on to play at Columbia College and
Tylen Thomas will be playing at Millersville University.
Dennis, who has played for the Charleston Battery with his older brother Charlie in the past, is undecided on what his future will hold while
Hudson Davis is going to attend USC and study advertising.
About Oceanside Collegiate Academy: Oceanside Collegiate Academy (OCA), located in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while earning up to two years of college credit. OCA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades
Learn more about OCA by visiting our website at OceansideCollegiateAcademy.org and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channel.
