By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
Perhaps no team has worked as hard as the Woodruff boys’ soccer team to win a region title.
Following a harrowing classic against Chapman, a win in penalty kicks following a 2-2 tie through regulation and two overtimes, the Wolverines demolished Union County 7-0 in their regular-season finale to win the conference crown for the third time in the last four seasons.
“We’re four years into this, and these guys understand our culture,” said Woodruff head coach Aaron Chappell. “They understand that everything we do is with the idea of the next play. This team has embodied that.”
Woodruff finished the regular season with a 15-2 record and an 8-2 mark in Region 3-3A. For the Wolverines, they battled and clawed their way to the top with determination, defense, and an unmatched will to win.
Woodruff rebounded from upset losses to Greer Middle College and Broome, defeating GMCC 4-0 in their second meeting, to set up a rematch with Chapman, whom they also defeated in penalty kicks after their first meeting ended in a 1-1 tie.
In the rematch, trailing 2-1 with just a minute remaining in the contest, Ian Silverio scored the tying goal on a header to force overtime on an assist from Eric Perez. It was his first and only goal of the season.
“Honestly, scoring that goal was absolutely insane,” stated Silverio. “The whole game, I was telling my teammates to keep their heads up. I got the chance, and I saw (Eric Perez) punch it (inbounds). I saw the ball coming, and I was initially going to hit it back into the box to one of my teammates, but I guess I got a good header on it and put it in the net.”
“It’s never over until it’s over, and that’s what I told them,” Chappell added. “You play to the last whistle. Ian only scored one goal all year, but it was the most important. I don’t think Hollywood could write that.”
After two scoreless overtime periods, the game advanced to penalty kicks. Coach Chappell inserted reserve keeper Nate Kelly, who he says defends PK’s well, and the move paid off in spades.
Perez, Carlos Garcia, and Juan Pineda scored on their respective attempts, and Kelly brilliantly turned away three of the Panthers’ four tries to seal the win. Kelly was grateful for his coach’s confidence and knew he had to rise to the occasion.
“At first, I was a little nervous and was pacing around,” Kelly said. “I just tried to stay calm. I prayed about it, and it made all my worries go away. After I saved the first kick, I knew I was going to save one or two more, and it built my confidence.”
Woodruff has outscored their opponents 93-11 on the season, and that dominance showed against Union County. The Wolverines have recorded eight shutouts in 17 games this year, a remarkable feat of lockdown defense.
“We had so much confidence (before the Union County game), and our heads were in the right place,” said Garcia. “We just wanted to win the region, and we were going to give 100 percent to make it happen.”
As the postseason gets underway, Woodruff is guaranteed at least two home playoff matches and enters the playoffs as one of the top teams in Class 3A. Coach Chappell sees his team as one that has persevered through every challenge thrown their way and believes his squad has the talent and drive to make a deep postseason run.
“That’s the next step for the program,” Chappell explained. “That’s a mountain we haven’t climbed yet, but because we continue to work and these guys are so focused and playing well, we absolutely have that opportunity. They are young and hungry. Everybody is 0-0 right now. Let’s take it one game at a time and see how things fall.”
For Silverio, a senior, a third region championship in his career is the culmination of all the hard work he and his teammates have put in.
“I got here (four years ago) when Coach Chappell got here,” he said. “He told us then that we were going to do great things, and he wasn’t lying.”
