Girls blank Hawks, clinch 2nd
LowcoSports.com
The region title was nice, but the real prize for Beaufort High’s boys soccer team Friday night came from the joy on longtime coach Terry Rawlins’ face — and his Griddy dance across the field after the Eagles beat visiting Hanahan in a penalty shootout.
“Seeing Coach Rawlins after 13 years win his region championship, it’s something I won’t ever forget,” senior captain Ben Christian said on this week’s episode of Lowco FC on the Lowco Media YouTube channel. “We are still electric. We’re hyped up. We’re ready.”
Despite playing a man down for much of the night, the Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the 69th minute only to see the Hawks find the equalizer inside the final two minutes of regulation. Beaufort broke back on top just two minutes into the first extra period, but Hanahan answered in the second extra session to send it to penalties.
Beaufort keeper Nigel Bell stopped one of the Hawks’ five attempts, and the Eagles went 5-for-5 with junior Eduardo Loza delivering the clincher to give Rawlins his long-awaited region crown.
The win capped off a stellar week for the Eagles, who set the stage with a 2-0 win at Hanahan on Tuesday and blanked Whale Branch 5-0 at home on senior night.
Beaufort (9-2, 7-1) hosts Bluffton at 7 p.m. Friday to wrap up the regular season before opening the Class 3A playoffs at home against Swansea at 6 p.m. Monday.
Beaufort’s girls also swept the Hawks to lock up the No. 2 seed from Region 8-3A, and they did so in dominant form with a pair of clean sheets. After a 4-0 win Tuesday on senior night, Georgia Southern signee Quinn Wilson and the Eagles’ defense blanked Hanahan 5-0 on the road Thursday for their fourth straight shutout in region play.
The Eagles kept it rolling with a 2-0 win over Beaufort Academy on Monday, as Selena Duncan scored a pair of goals and Wilson made five saves to collect her sixth shutout of the season. Beaufort (6-6, 4-2) hosts May River at 7 p.m. Thursday for its regular-season finale and will host a first-round playoff game Tuesday.
