North-South Soccer games set for Saturday at the College of Charleston

The annual North-South Soccer Classic, sponsored by South Carolina United FC and hosted by the South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association (SCHSSCA), will be held Saturday at the College of Charleston soccer stadium in Mount Pleasant.

The girls' match will kickoff at noon and the boys game will begin at 2 p.m. Admission is $8 and souvenir programs will be on sale for $4.

The Classic, which recognizes 72 of the top senior soccer players in the Palmetto State, has been staged every year since 1989 at various locations around South Carolina.

The boys event will celebrate its 24th consecutive season, while the girls match will be held for the 16th straight year. The inaugural North-South Soccer Classic took place in Mount Pleasant at the former Wando High School on Mathis Ferry Road.

The girls series is tied 7-7-1 through 15 matches after last season's 5-1 victory by the South. In the boys series, the North leads 14-7-2, but the South squad notched a 2-1 decision a year ago.

Local players on the boys' South roster include Chris Abraham, Academic Magnet; Connor Bauknight, Fort Dorchester; Kyle Egbert, Ashley Ridge' Brian Gray, Bishop England and Micahel Reifeis, Bishop England.

Local players on the girls' South roster include Rachel Nobbs, Fort Dorchester; Lindsay Baldo, Academic Magnet; Rachel Still, Bishop England; Kendall McCardell, Wando and Jenna Beauregard, Academic Magnet.

Highlighting this year's banquet on Friday at the host hotel, the Holiday Inn Charleston - Mount Pleasant, will be the 12th induction into the SCHSSCA Hall of Fame.

Former Stratford HS boys soccer coach Scott Ruggles, currently the President of the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association, will join 11 other members enshrined since 2007. Coach Ruggles amassed 245 victories in 21 seasons at SHS from 1983-2003 and led the Knights to 15 playoff appearances during that span. He coached in The Classic twice (1992, 1997) and was honored as the Region 6-4A Coach of the Year six times.

For more information, please visit the SCHSSCA website, SCSoccer.com.