Myrtle Beach, St. James set for anticipated rematch in boys soccer

A little over 10 months ago, the Myrtle Beach boys soccer team’s season came to screeching halt with a 5-1 loss to St. James in the Lower State finals.

The first rematch since may not be as anticipated, but it is still meaningful.

The No. 14 Sharks will make their return to Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, the first time the teams have met since May 12 of last year. St. James will have plenty of new faces, including a new coach in Michael Rice. Myrtle Beach, meanwhile, has shot up to No. 4 in the state with a significant crop of new players, as well.

It’s probably the reason revenge isn’t a bigger factor.

“It definitely helps,” Seahawks coach Jason Himmelsbach said. “A lot of the guys were on the team, but aside from those four, maybe only one played in that game. If I had 11 starters back, they’d all have that game penciled in. They’re focused on this year. We’ve got a new set of guys and new set of goals. I’m sure to some small degree it will be there when the whistle blows.

“I think most of my guys have [moved on]. It was such a big game last year. Both teams, I think that was the two best local teams. We had not had two local teams in the Lower State that I can recall. That was such a big moment.”

Myrtle Beach (7-1 overall) knows that another deep playoff run can start to be set up nicely with a win over St. James on Tuesday. Himmelsbach’s team already has Region VII-AA wins over Wilson and Lake City, and if it can defeat the Sharks and then North Myrtle Beach on Thursday, it could inch closer to another region title and a No. 1 postseason seed.

Despite the turnover, the Seahawks are just loaded enough to pull it off again.

One year after scoring at least five goals in 12 of its 25 games, Myrtle Beach is averaging just shy of four goals per contest this season. The only team that has kept the Seahawks out of the net was Nation Ford, one of the top teams in Class AAAA.

Elijah Rice, a first-year transfer who made waves as a receiver with the football team last fall, leads the team with seven goals. Adolpho Aguilar has five, and a number of others are doing their part as well.

Himmelsbach believes his team has only scratched the surface offensively.

“That’s one area where we haven’t really clicked. That’s an area where we can really improve on,” he said. “We have good, attacking players, but we haven’t really put it all together. Getting everyone on the same page takes a little bit of time.”

Continuing that upward trend on its home field against budding rival St. James may serve two purposes, even if getting some payback isn’t the top priority.

SCHSSCA RANKINGS

The most recent South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association state polls include six local programs. In particular, one of those teams is a relative newcomer.

Amid the Myrtle Beach and St. James boys (Nos. 4 and 14, respectively, in Class AAA), Region VII’s Georgetown holds the No. 15 spot. It is believed to be the first time in at least a decade the Bulldogs were in the polls.

Chris Hapeshis’ team is 7-2-1 overall and 2-0 inside the region. Its most recent game was a 1-0 victory over St. James. The Bulldogs play at North Myrtle Beach on Tuesday.

The Grand Strand’s other ranked programs are the Socastee boys (No. 11, AAAA), and girls programs Myrtle Beach (No. 6, Class AAA) and St. James (No. 9, Class AAA).

SCHSSCA STATE RANKINGS

BOYS

CLASS AAAA

1. Wando

2. River Bluff

3. Mauldin

4. J.L. Mann

5. Nation Ford

6. Wade Hampton

7. Blythewood

8. South Aiken

9. Riverside

10. Fort Mill

11. Socastee

12. Bluffton

13. Ashley Ridge

14. Lexington

15. White Knoll

CLASS AAA

1. Chapin

2. Eastside

3. Dreher

4. Myrtle Beach

5. A.C. Flora

6. Brookland-Cayce

7. Hilton Head

8. Daniel

9. Gilbert

10. Airport

11. Hanahan

12. Walhalla

13. Berea

14. St. James

15. Georgetown

CLASS AA/A

1. Bishop England

2. Academic Magnet

3. Indian Land

4. Mid-Carolina

5. Pendleton

6. Wade Hampton

7. Saluda

8. Powdersville

9. Marion

10. Newberry

GIRLS

CLASS AAAA

1. Wando

2. Lexington

3. J.L. Mann

4. Fort Mill

5. James Island

6. South Aiken

7. Dutch Fork

8. Wade Hampton

9. T.L. Hanna

10. Clover

11. Mauldin

12. Blythewood

13. River Bluff

14. Irmo

15. Spring Valley

CLASS AAA

1. Dreher

2. Chapin

3. Eastside

4. Swansea

5. Brookland-Cayce

6. Myrtle Beach

7. Hilton Head

8. Blue Ridge

9. St. James

10. Wren

CLASS AA/A

1. Bishop England

2. Academic Magnet

3. Indian Land

4. Batesburg-Leesville

5. Wade Hampton

FIVE TO WATCH

The beginning of spring break on Friday means plenty of meaningful games crammed into a shorter window this week. That continues Tuesday, when some of the area’s best teams face region contests against other top contenders.

St. James at Myrtle Beach baseball, 6 p.m., Tuesday: Both teams started with a pair of Region VII-AAA wins last week. One of them will be dealt their first loss here.

Georgetown at North Myrtle Beach softball, 6 p.m., Tuesday: The expected brutal round-robin between these two (and St. James) continues.

Aynor at Waccamaw baseball, 6 p.m., Tuesday: Waccamaw puts its statewide No. 1 ranking on the line against a high-quality Blue Jackets’ team.

South Florence at Carolina Forest baseball, 6:30 p.m., Tuesday: The No. 1 Panthers won their first two region games by an average of six runs.

St. James at Myrtle Beach boys soccer, 7 p.m., Tuesday: The rematch of last year’s Lower State finals again pits two of Class AAA’s ranked programs.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach, St. James set for anticipated rematch in boys soccer."