Lost in the headlines of all the scores was this little tidbit that happened this past week during the 3A playoffs.
Playing a first round game against Lugoff-Elgin, Seneca's Jason Vitaris scored 4 goals in a winning 7-1 effort. Jason's father, longtime Seneca coach Tef Vitaris, made the decision to sub his son out of the game and call off the dogs if you will. A typical gesture? Saving energy for the next round? sure, it was all of that. However, what set this apart was the fact that Coach Vitaris' son Jason was one goal shy of tying the career goal scoring record of John Wilson (formerly of Clemson, then the Charleston Battery, and now in the MLS) and facing a certain second round matchup against #1 team in the nation Greenville who has only given up 3 goals all year! Despite knowing the long odds, Coach Vitaris did the classy thing and subbed his son out of the game, one goal shy of the school record. Sadly Seneca fell to Greenville 4-0 on Thursday and Jason remains 1 goal shy.
I would like to commend Coach Vitaris on his superior sportsmanship and also acknowledge the accomplishments of Jason. Congratulations to the both of you, while Jason may have fallen one goal short you both have earned the respect of many!
