Myrtle Beach boys soccer tops St. James, nears region title

In the locker room just before Myrtle Beach’s clash with St. James, Seahawks coach Jason Himmelsbach delivered a soft-toned soccer sermon.

It was unusual, he told his players, for everything to line up so perfectly in a big game in any sport. Myrtle Beach was healthy, and no regular-season match this season would be as important as this one.

The opportunity wasn’t wasted.

The Seahawks moved into first place in Region VII-AAA with a 2-0 victory over St. James at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in a matchup of two of the top seven teams in the state.

“Because of the last time they played us and were the better team, we came out strong,” junior Adolpho Aguilar said, pointing out St. James’ 4-3 victory in the first region meeting between these two. “We got to it [Monday]. … And we did it.”

St. James – which won that overtime game on March 17 as well as a 1-0 game against the Seahawks in the Michael Nash preseason tournament – had not allowed a goal to any other team in the region heading into Monday. Myrtle Beach needed all of 50 seconds to do it again.

Following a quick change of possession and some action inside the Sharks’ box, freshman Jarvin Ramirez used a diving header to put the ball past St. James goalkeeper Haywood Brandon.

“That was the biggest moment of the game,” Himmelsbach said. “Getting a goal so early, it’s the best thing that can happen for your own team, and when it happens against you, it’s one of the worst things that can happen. It sets a physical and emotional mark on the game right off the bat.”

While that was huge for the win – given the Seahawks’ defensive effort overall – it was Aguilar’s breakaway score six minutes into the second half that gave Myrtle Beach (15-4-1 overall, 8-1 Region VII-AAA) the goals against tiebreaker over St. James (15-3-1, 8-1).

Technically both teams have one region game remaining, although both are against teams each dominated in the first meeting.

The loss effectively ended St. James’ shot at its first region title in school history. However, the Sharks have already claimed two firsts this season prior to the start of the Class AAA playoffs next week.

Seniors Quadarius Grate (Clash of the Carolinas) and Joey Simpson (North-South) were named to the state’s two all-star events. The Sharks earned their first-ever No. 1 state ranking and will also host their first playoff game in school history.

No other Sharks team has finished higher than third in the final region standings. More than likely this year, second place is where St. James will finish.

“It’s good that we were in this position to prepare for the playoffs,” Sharks coach Drew Pavy said. “We’ll take it, swallow it, and when the playoffs come around, everyone’s 0-0.

“I think these two teams could meet for the Lower States. We’ll get over it, and we’ll prepare for the playoffs.”

Barring what would be an unlikely collapse Thursday at home against Lake City, the Seahawks will enter the postseason as a No. 1 seed with high expectations.

“I knew there were certain criteria we needed to meet,” Himmelsbach said. “But instead of focusing on that, I told them to play their best game of the season.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach boys soccer tops St. James, nears region title."