South Mecklenburg soccer’s ‘weird’ year has ended up in the NCHSAA state championship

Langston Wertz Jr.
·2 min read

South Mecklenburg High School boys’ soccer coach Eric White says his team has had a bit of a “weird year.”

It could end, weirdly enough, with a state title

The Sabres beat Hickory Ridge 1-0 Tuesday in a state semifinal or N.C 4A Western Regional championship game.

South Meck (16-6-3) will play Apex Friendship in this week’s state final. Apex Friendship beat Raleigh’s Cardinal Gibbons 3-0 in the Eastern Regional final.

South Mecklenburg has played in three previous state title games. The Sabres’ last appearance in the final was eight years ago, when South Mecklenburg beat Wilmington’s Laney High, 2-0. South Mecklenburg also won the title in 1971.

This season’s road to the finals has been a little different, though. South Meck finished third in the SoMECK conference behind regular-season champion Ardrey Kell and Myers Park. The Sabres started the year 2-2, suffering back-to-back shutout losses in Games 3 and 4. Later, after being shut out by Weddington in September, South Meck was 4-3.

Not exactly the makings of a state championship contender.

There was another two-game losing streak later that month, too. But since then, the Sabres are 9-1-3 and have won five straight playoff games on the road. As a No. 24 playoff seed, South Mecklenburg is the lowest remaining seed in any of the state’s four classifications.

“It really doesn’t matter if we’re on the road or home, we just want to win,” said head coach Eric White. “We’ve had a weird year and didn’t finish up with the seed that we wanted, but we knew we were going to be dangerous. We knew whomever we ended up playing wasn’t going to want to play us. So we’re trying to do our best and stay together. If it’s on the road, it’s on the road.”

Hickory Ridge was the No. 3 overall seed in the West. The Ragin’ Bulls had a four game win streak snapped and missed a shot to reach the school’s first ever state final.

“We play a very tough schedule,” South coach White said, “and it’s all a build-up for the playoffs. We hoped by the time we get to now, first of all we’re healthy, and finally we are, and then we hope for our best soccer. Hopefully, that’s what’s going on now.”