Socastee boys soccer holds on to beat Lexington in first round

There wasn’t any teaching necessary this time around.

A quarter century after now-Lexington coach Will Gettys last played for Memo Suarez, Socastee simply had a better team.

The Braves started off their first year back in Class AAAA with a 2-1 victory over Lexington to open the playoffs. Despite what Suarez deemed a “terrible” game, the Braves’ aggressive style and skill pushed them through the next round.

“We never got any rhythm,” he said. “We never got any momentum going in our favor. It was a very ugly game. And the kids know it. We pulled through. That’s all that matters and we’ll take it.”

Socastee defended the home-field advantage it earned by going 10-0 in Region VI-AAAA much the same way it ran uncontested through its division. Using only a handful of players, the Braves pushed tempo throughout.

Chris Matlashewski scored the team’s first goal when he powered a shot through Lexington’s All-Region V goalie, Cameron Smith, eight minutes into the game.

Then, just before half, Jake Perito caught a deflection and scored on an open net. Had it not been for Smith’s efforts, the score would have likely had a larger differential.

However, Socastee’s offensive style also produced some defensive results, as well. Each time Lexington crossed midfield, it was likely outnumbered, often at a two-to-one clip.

“Sometimes we use short passes and stuff, but we like to keep as many people behind the ball as possible,” Socastee senior defender Willem Morin said. “That way no one attacks on us or anything.”

That’s sort of how Lexington felt.

“We’re not a very offensive team, so we don’t get the numbers forward,” said Gettys, who played club soccer for Suarez in the late 1980s through 1990. “We’re attacking with three or four when you need five or six.”

Lexington made it interesting with a Matt Masai goal in the closing moments, but the Wildcats couldn’t close the gap entirely, thanks to Socastee’s early two-goal lead.

That was all the Braves could muster, though, thanks in large part to Smith and then fellow Lexington goalie Andrew Ehrlich. The two combined to stop nine shots on goal.

Those two, along with James Cannon and Brandon Ayer, helped Getty’s team to respectable finishes against Region V competition, including statewide No. 2 River Bluff, No. 4 Irmo and No. 14 South Aiken.

So even though Socastee finished the regular season rankings at No. 7, it wasn’t taking the game lightly.

The Braves will have another home game on Thursday against the Stratford-Bluffton winner. It will be then that Socastee hopes it can put its numbers to even better use.

“It didn’t feel like a 2-1 game,” Morin said. “It felt like more than that. We just had trouble scoring. They had that nice goal at the end, so you can’t take too much away from them.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Socastee boys soccer holds on to beat Lexington in first round."