Brookland-Cayce, Chapin soccer earn spots in SC championship matches
Eduardo Moisa Membereno has been one of the best players in South Carolina since he arrived at Brookland-Cayce, and he showed why Monday night.
The senior had a hat trick in helping the Bearcats to a 4-1 win over Waccamaw to win the Class 3A Lower State championship. Brookland-Cayce will go for its second straight championship on Friday afternoon against Daniel, which defeated Powdersville, 2-0, to win the Upper State championship. It will be the second straight year the two teams meet in the championship match. Moisa-Membreno had a hat trick in a 4-2 win over the Lions last year.
Much like last year’s title run, Mosia Membreno is saving his best for the postseason. He has eight goals in the Bearcats’ four postseason games and has scored more than 50 goals for the second straight season.
Moisa Membreno, who set the school’s all-time goals record earlier this year, has 55 this season, and 139 in his three-plus seasons. His sophomore campaign was limited to just three games when COVID-19 wiped out spring sports across the country.
“The kid just has heart and fights until it is over,” B-C coach Matt Drapeau said. “He does it for everyone around him and does it for his team. He is a mild-mannered kid and doesn’t want all the attention. He is a great kid and I’m honored to know him and coach him.”
Moisa Membreno, who is from El Salvador, was mobbed after the match as students rushed the field shortly after the final whistle.
“This is my family. They are my family. It’s special,” Moisa Membreno said. “That’s all I could say.”
Lawton Powers had B-C’s first goal of the match, which put the Bearcats up 1-0 in the 19th minute. Five minutes later the Indians tied it.
It stayed tied until the second half when Moisa Membreno scored in the 47th minute on a free kick, moments after missing one.
Moisa Membreno scored again in the 72nd minute and his final one came when he touched the ball from the 50-yard line and dribbled it all the way, putting a slick move past the Waccamaw goalkeeper to make it 4-1 with less than five minutes left.
The Bearcats have won 15 matches in a row heading into Saturday’s championship.
“To be going back-to-back state championships feels great,” Drapeau said. “The job is not done. We will rest when it is over, not in the middle.”
Chapin boys to play for state championship
Brookland-Cayce will be joined by two other Midlands schools on championship weekend. Gray Collegiate defeated Andrew Jackson 4-2 on penalty kicks to advance to its first 2A championship matchup.
Chapin defeated powerhouse Wando, 2-1, and will play Riverside the Class 5A championship on Saturday at 8 p.m. It’s the Eagles’ first championship appearance since 2017 when they were in Class 4A.
Chapin scored both of its goals early in each half, one by Foster Smith in the fourth minute and the other by Carson Graves in the 41st minute.
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 11:01 PM.
