What a pleasure it was to watch an epic battle of two great soccer teams.
Wando seemed to have the best of it in the first half as the play remained on the Wando end of the pitch for most of the half. The Mauldin defense was steadfast and limited the Wando chances to 4 with one great save by the Mauldin keeper. Mauldin was the more physical of the 2 teams accumulating a dozen fouls and 2 yellow cards in the first half. The wind was in Wando's favor in the first half and played havoc on punts and goal kicks.
The second half Wando created any early opportunity and Kelsey Timmerman was taken down in the box. Madeleine Felabom converted the them penalty beautifully. Wando's celebration lasted 12 seconds too long as Mauldin attacked long on the restart and scored on great cross and finish.
This seemed to energize the Mauldin team and they really took over the game at this point. Schaidle scored the second goal on a perfect cross that found her unmarked 10 yards from the net she deftly one timed the cross passed the diving Wando keeper.
Wando created but 2 more chances which the keeper handled with relative ease.
Congratulations to Wando and Coach Shannon Champ on an incredible run. Since taking over at Wando Shannon Champ has guided her team to a lowerstate championship loss, back to back state championships and runner up. I expect to see Wando to continue this tradition of excellence in years to come. Wando loses just 2 Seniors to graduation this year and should be a force at state again next season.
What can you say about this years Mauldin team other than what a talented group of players. They were the better team on this night and deserved the championship based on their dominance of play after Wando opened the scoring. I look forward to seeing Miss Schaedle playing for the Cougars next season.
Congratulations to both teams on fantastic seasons!!!!
