Gray Collegiate boys soccer wins thriller, earns spot in first championship match
Gray Collegiate boys soccer got contributions from Monday night and the end result is the War Eagles are playing in its first soccer state championship.
Gray Collegiate and Andrew Jackson played to a stalemate for 110 minutes, tied 2-2 in the state semifinals. Once things moved to penalty kicks, it was all War Eagles. They won the PKs 4-2 and when the Volunteers last shot clanged off the crossbar, the fans stormed the pitch and celebrated in a wild frenzy.
“We did what we said we wanted to do. We punched our ticket to a final,” Gray Collegiate coach Kevin Heise said. “We played a hell of a schedule this year. We played everybody that would play us. I think we were rewarded at the end for doing so. We were battle tested. We showed our mettle.”
Gray Collegiate (20-3-2) will play Christ Church Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Irmo’s W.C, Hawkins Stadium for the Class 2A state championship. The War Eagles have already won state titles in boys basketball and football this season.
Heise, who is second all-time in the state in career wins according to Palmetto’s Finest record book maintained by the South Carolina High School League, is making his fourth appearance in the finals. He previously coached Brookland-Cayce to three state final appearances but is still looking for his first state title.
The War Eagles got the four goals from JT Gardner, Charlie Bozard, Ryan Kussro and Collin Martin, all seniors, during the PKs
“This means everything,” Kussro said. “I’ve given four years to this program. All these guys have given multiple years to this program. Coach Heise is one of the greatest coaches in the state. He deserves this more than anybody and I’m glad we got there.”
Heise used a bit of a different strategy in goal during the PKs. River Teeter, who is 6-foot-7, played spot duty on offense during the game but took his first reps in goal. On the first PK by Andrew Jackson, Teeter dove to his right and deflected the ball off the crossbar for the stop.
On the second Volunteers’ attempt, Heise turned to Nate Williams, who had to close out the match when starter Joey Sullivan was banged up in the second half. Sullivan came back in the third round of PKs and Andrew Jackson was able to score on both of those shots. Williams, who had been a three-year starter coming into the season, had been out with an injury and was just cleared to return at the beginning of the playoffs.
Teeter went back in for the fourth round and his larger frame made a presence. The final shot was high and hit the crossbar, giving the War Eagles a spot in the state championship.
Gray Collegiate took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by senior Guillermo Cely. It stayed that way until early in the second half when Carlos Vasquez scored in the 48th minute to stretch the lead to 2-0.
But Andrew Jackson responded quickly with a goal by Tyler Trimnal less than a minute later. The Volunteers later added the equalizer on a shot by Owen Phillips in the 68th minute.
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 11:21 PM.