Cardinal Newman wins Nike Palmetto Cup boys soccer title
Top-ranked SCISA 3A Cardinal Newman won its second tournament of the season, beating Brookland-Cayce, 4-2, on Saturday in the final of the Nike Palmetto Cup.
“Imitation is the best form of flattery, and it’s no secret we do a lot of what they do and what (coach) Kevin (Heise) does, because I’m part of his coaching tree,” said Cardinal Newman coach Will Eudy, “and they took it to us the first half, but we got two really special plays, and got really lucky to be tied 2-2.”
Cardinal Newman (17-3) won the Airport Select Invitational in March.
“With a two-goal cushion, we held it pretty well and I was proud of our guys,” Eudy said.
“They’ve won two tournaments this season already and that’s hard to do,” Heise said. “Cardinal Newman is a class team, a first-rate opponent. Cardinal Newman is just a quality side and we’ll be better because of (this game).”
Tied at 2 after 40 minutes, the Cardinals pulled ahead in less than three minutes into the second half as Bernie Herbkersman stepped in between two defenders inside the 18-yard box to score.
German Jaramillo’s goal from five yards out made it 4-2 with 31 minutes left.
The Bearcats (14-5) piled on the offense in the closing minutes but was unable to score. Two shots hit the post.
“We had great pressure, 14 or 15 shots, whatever it turned out to be,” Heise said. “Credit Cardinal Newman, they made plays, scored four goals on eight shots and we had 14 and only got two.”
Earlier in the day, the Bearcats defeated Dorman 3-0 to earn their spot in the championship match, while Cardinal Newman notched a 2-1 win over Virginia’s First Colonial.
At 1-1 in the 24th minute, Brookland-Cayce’s Sun Day leapt over the Cardinals’ diving keeper to score the go-ahead goal. Cardinal Newman’s Christian Kirol scored on a penalty kick to send the game into the half at 2-2.
Cardinal Newman 4
Brookland-Cayce 2
Goals: (BC) Dontrell Taylor; Sun Day; (CN) Wyatt Millard, Christian Kirol, Bernie Herbkersman, German Jaramillo. Assists: (BC) David Koprowski 2, Caleb Kussro. Saves: (BC) Jon Linton 1; (CN) Carson Bohannon 4. Recs: BC 14-5, CN 17-3.
Placement matches: Gaffney 5, Calhoun County 0; Wilson 7, Palmetto Homeschool United 1; Hartsville 1, Heathwood Hall 0; Clover 3, West Florence 0; Lexington 2, Immaculate Conception 1; Irmo 3, Byrnes 1.
This story was originally published April 11, 2015 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Cardinal Newman wins Nike Palmetto Cup boys soccer title."