Woodham leads Chapin to Class 3A boys soccer state title

Cooper Woodham was in the right place at the right time.

The Chapin junior was there to knock in the game-winning goal in the 71st minute to lift the Eagles to a 3-2 win over Myrtle Beach on Saturday at Irmo’s W.C. Hawkins Stadium.

It was Chapin’s third state title and first since 2003 when the Eagles won back-to-back 2A titles in the 2002-03 seasons.

“I didn’t do anything special but show up,” Woodham said of second-half goal. “The thought came into my head the night before about scoring a game-winning goal. But there was a lot the time before that goal that led us to the victory. So I am not going to take credit for the victory.”

The victory caps off a sweep by both Chapin soccer teams in Class 3A. The Chapin girls defeated Hilton Head 7-3 earlier in the day. The Eagles are the first Class 3A team to sweep both soccer titles since Hilton Head in 2013.

“We knew both teams were good coming into the year, but for both teams to win it is special,” said Chapin coach Ben Bosco, a member of Chapin’s runner-up team in 2008.

Woodham finished with two goals and an assist, and Matthew Greco added one in the 21st minute to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

Chapin’s lead remained at 2-0 until Abdul Mashrifov scored on a penalty kick in the 49th minute to cut the lead to 2-1. Three minutes, later Myrtle Beach’s Foster Russell blasted a shot from the right side to tie it at 2.

“Coach Bosco told us before the game we were going to face adversity so we knew it was going to be tough,” Woodham said. “It was definitely a shock when they came back but we were prepared for it.”

Bosco was pleased the way his team withstood the Seahawks’ run and the play on the final goal. Colin Harris delivered the pass to Woodham, who battled a Myrtle Beach defender before slipping it past David Carraker for the game-winning goal.

“It was a 50-50 ball and it bounced once and takes a captain midfielder like Cooper to get there first,” Bosco said. “In big moments, it is the difference of five yards and he got there first.”

Sailor Chason got the win in goal for the Eagles (21-3), while Carraker stopped two shots in the loss for the Seahawks, who finish the season at 23-3-1 and drop to 0-4 in state championship appearances.

Goals: C: Cooper Woodham 2, Matthew Greco. MB: Mashrifov, Russell. Assists: C: Woodham, Colin Harris. GK: C: Sailor Chason. MB: David Carraker.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Woodham leads Chapin to Class 3A boys soccer state title."