The East Cooper area is dominating postseason soccer superlatives again this spring.
Academic Magnet, Bishop England, Oceanside and Wando — all within an eight-mile radius of each other — combined to garner 28 all-state selections from the S.C. Coaches High School Soccer Coaches Association.
Academic Magnet placed four players on the boys AAA all-state team, while Bishop England added five, together accounting for half of the 18 players selected. Senior midfielders Bryan Bracy and Mason Bishop, join junior defender Dhillon Wegner and junior goal keeper Benji Vazquez as the Raptors’ selections. Bracy led the Raptors with 19 goals to go with seven assists this season. Bishop socred twice and added three assists. Wegner earned team defensive MVP honors, and Vazquez posted a 1.03 goals against average for the Raptors who logged 11 shutouts this season. Bracy was also selected to the 31st annual North-South Soccer Classic, a matchup of standout seniors that pits the Lower State against the Upper State June 22 at T.L. Hanna in Anderson.
The Bishops were represented by senior midfielders James Cox and Russell McLaughlin, along with senior defenders Sean Fields and Jacob Schirmer, and sophomore forward Miller Stokes. Cox, a College of Charleston signee and the 2019 Best of Prep Sports soccer Player of the Year, led the Bishops with 28 goals this season with nine assists. Stokes scored 21 goals and set up a team-best 12 others. Schrimer scored six goals. Fields four and McLaughlin three. McLaughlin and Schirmer are both Clash of the Carolinas all-star selections. Clash of the Carolinas will matchup many of South Carolina’s top seniors against North Carolina’s best June 29 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Bishops senior forward Henry Loor, who scored six goals and set up 11 assists, will represent the Bishops at the North-South game.
Three-time reigning state champion Wando was led by senior defender Ben Fayssoux, junior forward Kevin Wray and sophomore midfielder Tre Jackson on the AAAAA boys list. Wray led the Warriors this season with 26 goals, scoring seven in the postseason. Jackson scored twice and Fayssoux added one. Fayssoux and senior forward Ari Ogretman, who scored eight goals with nine assists, were selected to the Clash of the Carolinas. Lander signees Jonah Miller and Owen Hamilton, who scored seven goals including one in the Lower State championship game, will play in the North-South game for the Warriors.
Oceanside brothers Philip and Stephen Siegwald represent the state champion Landsharks on the AA boys team.
Philip led Oceanside with 21 goals and 13 assists. He sealed the state championship with a late goal in the AA title match. Philip is also a North-South all-star selection.
Stephen set up 15 assists and added nine goals himself. The brother averaged 70 minutes per game this season.
Academic Magnet and Bishop England filled out a large share of the AAA girls all-state team, too, with both teams receiving four nods. Senior midfielders Riane Coman and Jourdan Gruber join junior forward Riley Hass and junior defender Ashley Anderson from the Raptors. Coman, a South Carolina signee and Clash of the Carolinas selection, led Magnet with 27 goals and 17 assists. Gruber, a North-South pick, added 18 scores with eight assists. Haas also scored 18 goals, while setting up seven others. Anderson scored once from her defensive position. Raptors head coach Alister DeLong will serve as head coach of the South team in the North-South all-star game.
Senior defender Kelly Drummond, senior midfielder Megan Reineke, sophomore midfielder Kayla Vroman and freshman striker Lauren Berrigan led the Bishops’ two-time defending champion girls team. Berrigan led the Bishops with 20 goals and added 11 assists. Vroman scored 10 goals with nine assists. Drummond added five goals and Reineke scored twice with five assists. Berrigan, Vroman and Drummond each scored in the state title game. Drummond and Reineke were both selected to the North-South all-star game as well.
Best of Prep Sports soccer Co-Players of the Year Sami Meredith and Maggie Van Thullenar represent Wando’s state runner-up team on the AAAAA girls all-state list. Meredith, a South Carolina signee, led the Warriors with 40 goals with 17 assists this season, finishing with more than 100 in her career. Van Thullenar, an Auburn signee, posted 21 shutouts on way to setting a new state record with 64 clean sheets in her career. Meredith will represent Wando in the Clash of the Carolina game, while Warriors center back Micah Spickerman will play in the North-South game.
State runner-up Oceanside placed four girls — all underclassmen — on the AAA all-state team with sophomore Valentina Mosquera, freshman forward Isabella Pecunes, freshman goal keeper Ashleigh Fanelli, and freshman defender Korbin Simmons-Heyward. Mosquera was named AAA Player of the Year by the S.C. Coaches Association of Women’s Sports, after scoring 19 goals with 11 assists this season. Simmons-Heyward added 15 goals with six assists, while Pencunes scored four goals and set up five others. Fanelli helped Oceanside log seven shutouts this season.
