After outscoring its opponents 22-0 in the first two rounds of the 5A boys soccer Playoffs, Ashley Ridge exacted a little revenge in the third round.
The Swamp Foxes opened the playoffs with a 15-0 win over White Knoll and claimed a 7-0 victory over Cane Bay in the second round. That brought Wando, one of only two teams to defeat Ashley Ridge this season, to The Swamp May 3 for a rematch.
Wando went up by a goal in the first half, but late in the second half, Ashley Ridge found the net to tie a very physical contest. The Warriors again struck first in overtime to regain the lead. Still, in the second overtime period, the Swamp Foxes scored to force a penalty kick shootout. The Ashley Ridge goals came from Beckham Harris and Zac Boyd with assists from Nathaniel Harris and Josh DeSouza.
During the PK shootout, Ashley Ridge had successful kicks by Carter Gorczyca, Tyler Davison, Beckham Harris, Micah Bollmann and DeSouza. Wando landed its first four kicks but sailed the fifth over the crossbar to send the defending 5A boys soccer champions into the Lower State title game for the second consecutive season.
“Honestly, this feels great,” Gorczyca, a senior team captain, said. It shows the growth of this team throughout the season. We looked back at that film to see what we did wrong, and every single training session, we continue to work to improve. We really wanted this bad, and our practices paid off today.”
Ashley Ridge improved to 24-2 on the season. The Swamp Foxes have a rematch at Stratford May 6 in the Lower State Championship game. The Knights, which fell 1-0 to Ashley Ridge March 5, advance to the title game with a 1-0 win over River Bluff in the third round.
The winner of that game will advance to face either JL Mann or Fort Mill in the 5A state championship match, which is scheduled for May 10.
“At this point, it’s all about drive, working every day and making sure our bodies are hydrated and healthy,” Gorczyca said. “We have to go into every game obviously respecting the other team, but knowing we are the better team. We know what we can do. We showed that last year, and I believe we can do it again. We’ve had some hiccups this season, but have really connected as a team.”
