Back on top: Hilton Head Island girls defeat Eastside for Class 4A title
After a four-year absence, the Hilton Head Island girls’ soccer program is back on top.
The Seahawks (22-4) defeated Eastside 2-1 on Friday at Irmo High School to win the Class 4A championship. It is Hilton Head’s sixth title but first in Class 4A.
All of Hilton Head’s other titles came in Class 3A. The Seahawks didn’t make the championship last year, the first time in six seasons.
“I didn’t like the drought,” Hilton Head coach Ernie Suozzi joked. “These girls worked very hard this year and persevered through a lot of things. We had a lot of injuries through the season and everybody stepped up … and this is the end result for us.”
The championship is Suozzi’s fifth and one of his youngest squads to do it. Hilton Head has only three seniors on the roster. Abby Lainhart, who scored the game-winning goal was just a freshman.
But Suozzi backloaded his schedule with tougher teams from out of state to get them ready for the playoffs. But it was its loss to region foe to Colleton County that turned that Lainhart said turned things around for the team.
“That made us realize that we had to pick up our game,” Lainhart said. “It was a wakeup call for sure.
Eastside jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Monique Jende’s free kick from 27 yards out in the 11thminute. But Souzzi said his team was notoriously slow starters and proved him right.
The Seahawks answered on Carson Schoeppe’s penalty kick, three minutes later to make it 1-1. Lainhart gave Hilton Head a 2-1 lead with a goal in the 27th minute.
Hilton Head’s defense limited Eastside’s chance in the second half.
“It seems to invigorate us every game,” Suozzi said of falling behind. “But if that is what it takes, I will take it. These girls are tough.”
This story was originally published May 11, 2018 at 10:07 PM with the headline "Back on top: Hilton Head Island girls defeat Eastside for Class 4A title."