Pendleton’s Mohr is area’s top
boys’ soccer player
PENDLETON — In soccer, attention tends to fall to the player who puts the ball past the goalie.
However, Pendleton High School's Andrew Mohr is all about setting up the scorer. This season, Mohr's passing abilities led him to set school marks in assists for a season, with 32, and for a career, with 69. And he still has a season to go.
Mohr also garnered Skyline 2A Player of the Year accolades for the third consecutive year and is the Independent Mail's All-Area boys soccer Player of the Year.
Pendleton head coach Jonathan Walker said he could not recall coaching another player with Mohr's attitude toward passing. It is a big rarity. Kids today want the stats and the goals. But Andrew gets just as much, if not more, enjoyment out of getting assists, Walker said. He really is a team-first guy, and that makes him a fun player to coach.
While Mohr, a rising senior, has become known for his passing ability, that does not mean he can't put the ball between the posts. He proved that on 22 occasions this past season.
Walker said Mohr also brought such key intangibles as leadership and a better understanding of the game to the team. He was the heart and soul of our team. We ran a lot of things through him to distribute to others, and that is really what you want out of a midfielder he said. "It was more of a case
of what didn't he do for us this year."
But as Walker said, Mohr was quick to bring up the Bulldogs' dominant run over the region
after finishing the year 18-5 overall.
"It was the fourth year in a row we have won region. The senior class is the first class to
win all four years, and that is pretty cool if you ask me," he said. "I had a pretty good year
too, but I'm most proud of how the team did."
That region title though looked to be in doubt after a 4-2 loss to rival Powdersville on
March 11. Mohr said looking back, the loss may have been the best thing that happened to
"After the loss we knew we had to win every game from there on out if we wanted a
chance to win region again. That loss was really a wake-up call for us," he said.
Pendleton did not lose another region game, and dropped just two nonconference games
to Christ Church and Wren before the start of the Class AA playoff. In that run was a 6-3
win in a rematch against the rival Patriots, in which Mohr tallied two second half goals.
Mohr said along with winning region, the season did hold a special moment for him. It
came April 12 at Carolina Academy.
"I knew I was an assist away from breaking the record. Right (after) kickoff, me and
Brendan Milstead passed back-and- forth to each other, and 10 seconds in he put it away
off a pass. That was a really cool moment for me."
With the season behind him, Mohr turns his attention to the camp circuit, where he will
play for Clemson Anderson Soccer Alliance U19 team coached by D.W. Daniel's Philip
While playing, Mohr plans to continue sharpening parts of his game.
"All my coaches tell me I need to shoot a little more, because sometimes I pass up goals
when I need to be more aggressive," he said. "I need to improve my touches with my right
foot, my weaker foot."
Walker said that is a conversation he and Mohr had at the start of the season.
"There have been times where he would have an open shot, but would look to pass. We
have had candid conversations that when he gets an open shot he needs to take it," he
said. "That is probably the first time I've told a player they are being too unselfish."
Along with playing, this summer is also key in picking up college attention. Mohr said his
priority for the summer is going to camps to get seen by recruiters.
But regardless of the records, the hardware earned, or even the attention on the recruiting
trail, Mohr still has the one overriding mindset.
"I don't care if I score or if I can get an assist," he said. "As long as the team is winning,
that is most important."
All-Area Boys Soccer Team
Forward: Rivers Cathey (Sr, T.L. Hanna); Brenden Milstead (Sr, Pendleton)
Midfield: Kit Schleifer (Sr, Daniel); Austin Snow (Jr, Powdersville); Ben Rust (Jr, Powdersville);
Ben Lucas (Sr, Wren); Andrew Mohr (Jr, Pendleton)
Defense: Gus Johnson (Sr, Daniel); Kenny Young (Sr, Powdersville); Chance Poore (Soph,
Keeper: Cortland Young (Sr, Daniel)
Coach of Year: Jeremy McCall (Powdersville)
Honorable Mention: Nate Higginbotham (Pendleton), Aubrey Stack (Wren), Yair Gil (Westside),
Cayden Park (BHP), Christian Easton (T.L. Hanna), Tyler Hurst (Powdersville), T.J. Williams
(Pendleton), Connor Shea (Crescent), Harrison Grant (Palmetto), Ellis Gardner (BHP), James
Hansen (Seneca)
