Chapin girls capture first soccer championship
For the past two years, Rachel Cosby hasn’t finished the soccer season because of season-ending injuries. As a freshman, she broke her collarbone, and last season she tore her ACL.
As a result, the Eagles fell short of bringing home the girls soccer program’s first-ever state championship.
That all changed on Saturday. The junior’s four-goal performance at Irmo’s W.C. Hawkins Stadium paced Chapin to a resounding 7-3 victory over Hilton Head in the Class 3A title game.
“I’ve been out the last few years so it feels good to finally to be back after breaking my collarbone and tearing my ACL,” Cosby said. “It feels so good to be out here with my team. It’s such a great team. I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
Cosby had a hat trick in the first half and added her final goal in the early stages of the second half. Salley Slice, Shelby Waites and Jordan Dawsey also scored goals for the Eagles.
Chapin (20-2-1) was making its fourth appearance in the final. Its last appearance came in 2014, when it lost to Hilton Head. Last season, it lost in the Upper State final to eventual state champion Dreher.
Coach Bob Taylor had previously won a state championship as wrestling coach at Chapin in the 1990’s but winning the programs first-ever state championship in girl’s soccer was special.
“I’ve always wanted a soccer one because it’s a great atmosphere,” Taylor said. “It’s fun being out here and I’ve always wanted this. Two years ago we came up short and wanted to get back last year but came up short. Really the only thing that would make us happy is what happened today. These girls have had a lot of pressure on them all year and they’ve responded.”
The Eagles had the target on their back all season and never faltered under the pressure. They spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in Class 3A and welcomed that challenge of trying put themselves in the record book.
“They were singing on the way to the game today,” Taylor said. “They really love each other and get along together. They’re a great team. I hate that’s it’s ending with five seniors leaving.”
Cosby wasted little time scoring, taking a pass from about 30 yards away from the goal and dribbled through the Hilton Head defense to score her first goal at the 9-minute mark. Four minutes later, she scored off of a corner kick to give the Eagles an early 2-0 lead.
Hilton Head (19-5-1) responded with two goals just a little over two minutes apart to get even. Esther Anderson scored off a penalty kick in the 19th minute and Mackenzie Poplin added another goal.
Slice gave Chapin the lead for good when she headed the ball over the head of the Seahawks goalkeeper in the 23rdminute.
Cosby recorded the hat trick when she added another goal off of a corner kick with a minute remaining in the first half to give the Eagles a 4-2 at the break.
“She’s one of the fun ones too,” Taylor said. “She’s the lead singer. Nothing seems to break her. Her freshman year she hurt her shoulder and last year it was her ACL. She came back this year with a bionic knee. Her speed this year is off the chain. She’s had a great season and you can’t say enough about her getting four goals today.”
Waites scored off a header to make it 5-2 before Anderson scored on a penalty kick. Cosby ended her stellar day with another goal in the 50th minute before Dawsey scored in the closing minutes.
“It feels so good,” Cosby said. “Our team is such a family and we knew from the beginning we wanted to be in this game. Our whole season was getting ready for this game. Winning it means the world to all of us.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Chapin girls capture first soccer championship."