The reason Irmo lost is simple. For 80 minutes on Saturday night, Wando had the better TEAM. Irmo's fans? Irrelevant to the outcome. The officiating? Mediocre BOTH WAYS, but irrelevant.
Wando's kids played consistently harder, more committed, and arguably more technical soccer for the vast majority of the game, even when absorbing pressure. Irmo played from behind for virtually the whole match, and that's extraordinarily difficult to do in 90-degree heat and the crucible of competition ... not to mention artificially high expectations.
FWIW, my biggest problem with Irmo's student/fans was the highly disrespectful way they treated the Class AAA kids, chanting during the previous game's awards ceremony. I expect adolescents to use profanity -- heck (sadly) that's now the societal norm. But at least respect the EVENT enough to let the Eastside/Mytle Beach kids receive their due uninterrupted.
