Preseason soccer polls indicate promising year on pitch

Philip Simmons High School boys’ soccer coach Patrick Gunderson said his team’s ranking in the state preseason polls shows what he and his team are building.

 

“It’s great to see Philip Simmons’ soccer reputation resonating across the state of South Carolina,” Gunderson said of his team’s No. 4 ranking in Class AAA. “It’s a great starting point. But, it’s a starting point.”

 

The No. 4 ranking might show that the Iron Horses are undervalued. The team has six victories early in the season and one of the wins is a decision over Waccamaw, which began the season at No. 3. 

 

The Iron Horses began the season with four victories to win the Capital City Classic in Columbia, outscoring foes 11-0. They followed that up with a 7-0 conquest of Lake City. The Iron Horses edged Waccamaw 1-0 March 3 in a clash at The Phil.

 

Gunderson is pleased with the start, but warns his team needs to stay focused.

 

“It’s a new region with new teams,” Gunderson said. “We have to make sure we take it one at a time and don’t look too far ahead.”

 

There are 26 players on the varsity squad and nine are seniors. That’s good depth for a demanding schedule that includes 23 games.

 

Key seniors include: Griffin Gore, Riley Beard, Tucker Sprofera and McCabe Trowbridge. Junior Ty’Sun Mack-Davis was all-state last year. 

 

The Iron Horses’ girls team checks in at No. 10 in Class AAA and are 0-1 in 2023, dropping the March 2 season-opener to Bishop England in overtime. Coach Ed Liebe’s squad went 11-7-1 last spring, including 6-0 in Region 6-AA.

 

Last spring, the Iron Horses outscored foes 10-0 in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but were eliminated in the third round by Christ Church.

 

The Iron Horses’ girls hold down the No. 10 spot in Class AAA. 

 

BE SOCCER RANKINGS

 

The Bishop England girls are ranked No. 2 in Class AA, while the boys are ranked No. 5. 

 

The BE girls are 1-0 with a victory over the Iron Horses as senior striker Georgie Collins scored the Bishops’ only goal in regulation as the team battled to a 1-1 tie. The Bishops won 4-2 after penalty kicks.

 

Coach Netha Kreamer is back for her second season at the helm of the program after leading her team to a 12-6 record last year, including 7-3 in region play.

 

The Bishops reached the Lower State Championship, but lost to Oceanside Collegiate Academy. OCA is ranked No. 1 ahead of the Bishops.

 

While Kreamer is in her second year, the boys’ team has a new coach with a familiar name: Patrick Khouri, who helped BE win a state title as a freshman, the only season he played soccer at BE.

 

Khouri is the grandson of Ed Khouri, a BE legendary coach who won 513 games in his near 30-year tenure, while guiding the Bishops to 14 state titles.

 

The Bishops begin the season March 10 against perennial SCISA power and rival Porter-Gaud.