June 19, 2021

High School Soccer Media -

The 2021 North-South Soccer Classic, hosted by the South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association, was staged Saturday, June 19 at T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson, S.C.

The event was back online after a one-year hiatus due to Covid-19, but celebrated the 32nd event for the Boys contest and the 24th game for the Girls. The inaugural Boys match took place in 1989 and the Girls game in 1997.

Both matches were held at Yellow Jacket Memorial Stadium's Fraser Field on a sunny and mid-80s day in the Upstate. In the Girls match the North squad captured a 3-1 victory while the Boys game saw the South garnered a 3-2 victory.

GIRLS: North 3-1 South

Kayce Miller of Carolina Forest opened the scoring midway through the first half when she hit a long range goal from the far touchline on a pass from her CFHS teammate Alexis Lilly. Two minutes later the North equalized on a nice give-and-go that saw Clover's Samantha Wolf put in Blythewood's Lauren Hendry who slotted the ball into the net. A Catawba Ridge connection hooked up in the 58th-minute to give the North a 2-1 advantage when Emma Sexton knocked home a scramble in the six-yard box that was setup by her Copperheads teammate Maren White. The North closed out the scoring in the 75th-minute as Olivia Shaw of J.L. Mann finished a pass from Sexton for the final tally.

Halftime: North 1-1 South
Goals: (S) Kayce Miller 20', (N) Lauren Hendry 22', (N) Emma Sexton 58', (N) Olivia Shaw 75'.
Assists: (S) Alexis Lilly; (N) Emma Sexton, Maren White, Samantha Wolf.
Shots: (N) 19-7 (S).
Saves: (N) Abby McElveen 2-10 (S) Avery Newman 8, Jessica Padgett 2.
Corner Kicks: (N) 2-3 (S).
Offsides: (N) 2-3 (S).
Fouls: (N) 7-3 (S).
Referees: (R) Leonard Gonzalez; (AR) Rebecca Hall; (AR) Amee Horton.
MVPs: (N) Emma Sexton; (S) Avery Newman.
Records: South leads 10-9-5.

BOYS: South 3-2 North

In a topsy-turvy affair befitting of an all-star contest, Socastee's Zach Elsibia, started the goal scoring affair on 20 minutes when he bodied up a defender at the top of the box and sent his shot soundly into the net. Then, the North's Lamont Young of Northwestern leveled the game at 1-1 four minutes later as he connected on an indirect kick that A.C. Flora's Will Tate headed in his direction. At the 27-minute mark J.L. Mann's Mikey Burke blasted home an absolute bomb which he volleyed from just outside the right side of the penalty box. But, North Myrtle Beach's Armando Arvizu, knotted the game at 2-2 moments before intermission on an assist from Wando's Josh Johnson. Despite end-to-end action in the second stanza, the score remained tied until Lake City's Irvin Fajardo knocked in the game-winner with eight minutes remaining in the contest.

Halftime: South 2-2 North.
Goals: (S) Zach Elsibia 20', Armando Arvizu 27', Irvin Fajardo 72'; (N) Lamont Young 24', Mikey Burke 27'.
Assists: (S) Josh Johnson; (N) Will Tate.
Shots: (S) 12-11 (N).
Saves: (S) Carson Williams 2-6 (N) Ryan Halas 2, Andrew Reinhardt 4.
Corner Kicks: (N) 6-4 (S).
Offsides: (N) 1-1 (S).
Fouls: (N) 9-6 (S).
Referees: (R) John DuBro; (AR) Chuck Bowman; (AR) Matthew Lombardi.
MVPs: (S) Zach Elsibia; (N) Mikey Burke.
Records: North leads 16-13-3.

For more information, please visit www.scsoccer.com.