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COLUMBIA – Senior goalkeeper Brandon Jaramillo and some of his Eastside soccer teammates painted gray into their hair before the South Carolina high school state championship game.
Late into the night, the Eagles were making their fans’ hair turn gray.
Eastside won the SCHSL Class 5A Division 2 title May 23 against Chapin on penalty kicks after a 1-1 regulation and four overtimes at Memorial Stadium.
Eastside (16-7) won its seventh state championship, the first since 2022 in Class 4A.
Eagles junior twins Hunter Kazian and Frazor Kazian made nearly identical penalty kicks for the lead, and Jaramillo blocked a low shot by Chapin’s Gabe Sansbury to the right corner to win it.
Jaramillo dove to his left and you could hear the sound of the ball bouncing off his glove in the hushed stadium.
“It was the most beautiful sound that I think I have ever heard in my life,” Jaramillo said.
“Brandon saved a penalty kick in every penalty kick game we’ve had,” Eastside coach Stephen Wood said. “I knew that was coming. He’s special.”
Because of weather delays and other overtime games, Eastside and Chapin didn’t start until nearly 11 p.m. They went into the first overtime at 12:35 a.m. and the game didn’t end until 1:39 a.m.
With the stadium lights scheduled to turn off at 2 a.m., there was a rushed postgame ceremony before the place went dark.
Eastside scored its goal just 16 minutes into the regulation when Asher Martin tracked down a ball headed for the corner and set up teammate Ryder Martin with header.
Chapin tied it before halftime, however, and it stayed that way through a pair of 10-minute overtimes plus a pair of five-minute golden goal sudden death OTs.
It was a long night of yellow cards and injuries, with players battling cramps, especially in the last overtime periods.
“It was intense the whole time,” Wood said. “We had to keep putting different guys in and going deep into our bench. But we just keep playing strong. Just an incredible job.”
PIKES PEAK: Why Brody Pike was extra emotional after Powdersville soccer won SCHSL 3A title
SOUTHSIDE'S FIRST: How Southside boys soccer won its first 'but not last' SCHSL championship
Special hair for the finals is a popular thing for players. A few teams went all blond. Jaramillo went half gray. He left the other half black.
“Honestly, it was last-minute thing on the bus,” Jaramillo said. “One of my teammates had some spray and some cream. Some of us did it. I thought, ‘Why not?’ ”
During the break before the penalty kick session, Jaramillo paced in front of the bench with a calm stare. He took a bite of a banana and headed over to the net.
“I looked at my teammates,” Jaramillo said. “I looked at all the people who came to support us. I wanted to do it for them, for my family, for my loved ones. They motivate me so much, telling me to stay mentally prepared for this game.”
Todd Shanesy covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SCHSL boys soccer, Eastside beats Chapin for 7th state championship
Continue reading...
Late into the night, the Eagles were making their fans’ hair turn gray.
Eastside won the SCHSL Class 5A Division 2 title May 23 against Chapin on penalty kicks after a 1-1 regulation and four overtimes at Memorial Stadium.
Eastside (16-7) won its seventh state championship, the first since 2022 in Class 4A.
Eagles junior twins Hunter Kazian and Frazor Kazian made nearly identical penalty kicks for the lead, and Jaramillo blocked a low shot by Chapin’s Gabe Sansbury to the right corner to win it.
Jaramillo dove to his left and you could hear the sound of the ball bouncing off his glove in the hushed stadium.
“It was the most beautiful sound that I think I have ever heard in my life,” Jaramillo said.
“Brandon saved a penalty kick in every penalty kick game we’ve had,” Eastside coach Stephen Wood said. “I knew that was coming. He’s special.”
Because of weather delays and other overtime games, Eastside and Chapin didn’t start until nearly 11 p.m. They went into the first overtime at 12:35 a.m. and the game didn’t end until 1:39 a.m.
With the stadium lights scheduled to turn off at 2 a.m., there was a rushed postgame ceremony before the place went dark.
Eastside scored its goal just 16 minutes into the regulation when Asher Martin tracked down a ball headed for the corner and set up teammate Ryder Martin with header.
Chapin tied it before halftime, however, and it stayed that way through a pair of 10-minute overtimes plus a pair of five-minute golden goal sudden death OTs.
It was a long night of yellow cards and injuries, with players battling cramps, especially in the last overtime periods.
“It was intense the whole time,” Wood said. “We had to keep putting different guys in and going deep into our bench. But we just keep playing strong. Just an incredible job.”
PIKES PEAK: Why Brody Pike was extra emotional after Powdersville soccer won SCHSL 3A title
SOUTHSIDE'S FIRST: How Southside boys soccer won its first 'but not last' SCHSL championship
Special hair for the finals is a popular thing for players. A few teams went all blond. Jaramillo went half gray. He left the other half black.
“Honestly, it was last-minute thing on the bus,” Jaramillo said. “One of my teammates had some spray and some cream. Some of us did it. I thought, ‘Why not?’ ”
During the break before the penalty kick session, Jaramillo paced in front of the bench with a calm stare. He took a bite of a banana and headed over to the net.
“I looked at my teammates,” Jaramillo said. “I looked at all the people who came to support us. I wanted to do it for them, for my family, for my loved ones. They motivate me so much, telling me to stay mentally prepared for this game.”
Todd Shanesy covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SCHSL boys soccer, Eastside beats Chapin for 7th state championship
Continue reading...
