CARY, NC - The 14th annual Clash of the Carolinas, hosted by the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association and the South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association was held Saturday, June 26 at WakeMed Park's Koka Booth Stadium in Cary, N.C. Last year's event was canceled due to Covid-19.
Both the NCSCA and the SCHSSCA would like to thank their sponsors and partners in staging the nation's only interstate prep all-star soccer matches: Brine; BSN Sports; First Citizens Bank; Hampton Inn & Suites; Lloyd's Soccer; and Wingate by Wyndham.
The Tar Heels retained both trophies after the North Carolina girls simply demolished their southern counterparts, 11-0, and the Tar Heels/Sandlappers drew 1-1 in the boys match.
The girls game was almost over from the opening whistle and certainly was in no doubt at intermission as NC held a commanding 6-0 advantage before ending the day with double digits on the scoreboard in an 11-0 victory. It was literally one way traffic for most of the game as the Tar Heels peppered the SC goal with 35 shots. NC scored three times in the opening 10 minutes and matched that feat in the closing 10 minutes with five other scores in between. NC now owns an overall mark of 11-1-2 in the series that began in 2007 as SC's only victory came in the 2008 contest.
The boys match was a true 180 in terms of competition as the two sides battled to a 1-1 draw in hot and humid conditions. It was end-to-end action for 90 minutes and the statistics were pretty much even the entire afternoon. The Sandlappers got on the board first when Gaffney's Rafael Razo slotted home a pass from Myrtle Beach's Roman Perez in the 18th minute on a full field counter attack off a NC corner kick. SC would hold onto the lead through halftime, but seven minutes into the second stanza saw Cardinal Gibbons' Dean Mercer knock in a shot from the top of the box on an assist from his prep teammate Graydon Martin to level the scoreline. It would prove to be a back and forth affair the rest of the match with neither team able to grab a winning goal. The Tar Heels now lead the series 7-1-6 as the two teams battled to a draw for the third time in the last four meetings.
