River Bluff boys soccer advances to Class 4A state title game

River Bluff has been one step away from the state championship the past two years.

The Gators were unsuccessful each time, but broke this year with a 2-0 victory over Socastee in the Class 4A Lower State championship Tuesday.

“You start a brand new program and you go to the Upper State championship the first year and you lose a heartbreaker,” River Bluff coach Phil Savitz said. “The second year, we’re playing Wando in the Lower State championship. Two years in a row, you’re undefeated region champs and you just can’t quite get there. It means so much to me and the players that are here, not only to the team, but to the alumni and the fan base, to be in a team state championship. After two years of being so close, it means everything to me.”

The win was the 699th of Savitz’s career. He will go for No. 700 against Clover at 6 p.m. Saturday at Irmo High with the state crown on the line.

One of the top-10 teams in the nation, River Bluff was facing a Socastee team that led the state with 146 goals – the fourth-highest total in SCHSL history.

But the Gators held them at bay, and got second-half goals from Sean O’Hara and Connor Deany to advance to the state championship. The loss also snapped an 18-game win streak for the Braves, who hadn’t been shut out this season prior to Tuesday’s match.

“It’s been a spectacular season,” Socastee coach Byron Owen said. “In the beginning, it was a little rough for us. But we got a lot of things straightened out as a team and we rolled for a long time. We made a good run.”

The Myrtle Beach Sun News contributed to this report

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 10:40 PM with the headline "River Bluff boys soccer advances to Class 4A state title game."