June 13, 2015
MOUNT PLEASANT - Honors were even at the College of Charleston Soccer Stadium in the 2015 North-South Soccer Classic as both all-star matches ended in 1-1 draws. The 90-minute contests were the 27th (boys) and 19th (girls) consecutive events hosted annually by the South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association.
On a hot and humid day in the Lowcountry the 69 graduated seniors capped off their prep careers by battling valiantly amidst extreme weather conditions.
In the girls match, Mary Shirley of West Ashley opened the scoring in the 12th minute when she lobbed a shot from just inside the left penalty area over an outstretched goalkeeper Abby Schmidt of Dutch Fork to give the South a 1-0 advantage. That lead would hold until the 57th minute when J.L. Mann's Sarah Dixon leveled the game on a rebound shot. Despite outshooting the South squad 16-6 the North team could not muster another score as Schmidt went the distance in the net and recorded three saves. Dixon earned Most Valuable Player honors for the North squad while South goalkeeper Kamryn Kelley of Irmo was tabbed MVP by tallying five saves in the second stanza including several point-blank stops.
The boys match featured late game drama as Academic Magnet's Zach Reineke broke the scoreless deadlock in the 79th minute when he latched onto a ball sent over the top of the North defense for a 1-0 lead. However, with just five minutes remaining Dutch Fork's Addam Hinton slipped past the South defense and sent his shot past Wando goalkeeper Jonathan Milligan to knot the match at 1-1. Blythewood goalkeeper Reid Hunter, who played the first half for the North squad, tallied four saves on six shots and was named MVP, while the South's Roman Brockman of James Island Charter earned his team's MVP honors after playing nearly the full 90 minutes and creating several scoring opportunities.
The South continued its resurgence in the girls series as the Lowcountry Sandlappers have not lost to its North counterparts since 2010 and now lead the series 9-7-3. In similar fashion has been the boys series which the North holds a 15-9-3 advantage, but the South has won four of the last six meetings which includes this year's draw.
GIRLS, South 1-1 North
Halftime: S 1-0 N.
Goals: (S) Mary Shirley 12; (N) Sarah Dixon 56.
Assists: none.
Shots: S 6-16 N.
Corner Kicks: S 1-3 N.
Saves: (S) Chris Sacha 2, Kamryn Kelley 5; (N) Abby Schmidt 3.
Fouls: S 6-4 N.
Offsides: S 0-7 N.
Records: South (9-7-3); North (7-9-3).
Officials: (R) Sam Hosig; (AR) Steven Boice; (AR) Steven Infinger.
Weather: Clear, 90 Degrees.
BOYS, South 1-1 North
Halftime: S 0-0 N.
Goals: (S) Zach Reineke 79; (N) Addam Hinton 85.
Assists: none.
Shots: S 12-7 N.
Corner Kicks: S 7-1 N.
Saves: (S) Jonathan Milligan 6; (N) Reid Hunter 4, Aiden Ardoin 2.
Fouls: S 11-8 N.
Offsides: S 0-2 N.
Records: South (9-15-3); North (15-9-3).
Officials: (R) Michael Catlet; (AR) Hal Cauthen; (AR) Jeremy Prock.
Weather: Clear, 94 Degrees.
Twitter - #NSSC15
