No. 1! Hilton Head Christian girls soccer crowned state champions for 2021

Having been doused with water moments earlier, Hilton Head Christian Academy girls soccer coach Rosa Smith found herself searching for the words Saturday to describe what just happened. A few minutes prior, she said it all.

The first-year coach’s Eagles team was leading Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach 3-0 with under two minutes left in the Class 2A SCISA state title game at Heathwood Hall in Columbia. Smith sent in her seniors for the game’s final moments.

As sophomore Bless Hurtado left the field, Smith had a message as the two shared a hug.

“Hey, state champ! Hey, state champ!” Smith said.

Soon after Smith was wiping back tears, just before her squad got after her with the water bottles. It was the program’s first state title since 2016.

“It means everything,” Smith said. “Everyone wants to win a state championship, but not everybody can.”

Hurtado’s go-ahead goal came in a tight first half when both teams had their chances. The goal was a long strike from just outside the box, one that wasn’t the most comfortable to load up.

“I just saw someone cut to me,” Hurtado said. “I was on my left foot, so I said, ‘I’m not shooting it like that.’ I just took a touch, and I guess I saw it and I shot it.”

In the second half, freshman Devon Yarde and junior Addie Lentz added tallies to make it a comfortable win.

Senior MiKayla Kelca had five saves for the Eagles (10-4-2) in the win. Saints keeper Abigail Teeters had seven saves in defeat.

“They’re a well-organized team,” said Christian Academy coach Jacqui Slay, whose team finished 10-3. “They’re a fit team. They just had one or two more players than we did, and that’s just what it comes down to.”

The title caps an Eagles season that began with change. The coronavirus pandemic wiped away most of the 2020 campaign, and then the former coach departed.

It meant a new start at the end of careers for seven seniors. They felt something different right at the beginning.

And Saturday afternoon, it paid off with the second state title in program history.

“From the first practice, we knew that it was a different game from what we played before,” senior Madison MacCabe said. “We knew that we meant business this year.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2021 at 2:21 PM.