Bishops secure another final berth

The mantra of the playoffs is to survive and advance, which is exactly what top-ranked Bishop England did as it beat second ranked Waccamaw, 1-0, to capture a fifth straight Class AA Lower State boys soccer title.

The Bishops will go after their fifth consecutive state title in Columbia on Saturday against Emerald.

Tuesday night's match on Daniel Island was a game worthy of a state final, as both teams played solid defense. Neither squad gave an inch until Bishop England junior Brant Morrison scored the only goal of the game in the 58th minute of play.

Morrison took a pass from senior captain George Khoury in the box and shot the ball past Waccamaw goalkeeper Clayton Bezdek for what proved to be the winning goal.

"It feels good to score the winning goal, but I was just in the right spot at the right time," Morrison said.

The first half was a kind of a feeling-out session for both teams, as each only had one really good scoring opportunity.

Bishop England's came in the 13th minute when senior Jorge Villamizar hit the right post and the ball rolled back across the front of the goal. Waccamaw was able to clear the danger and also thwarted the ensuing corner kick.

The Warriors came right back when Tyler Staub got free in the box and hit a low shot that Bishops keeper junior Brandon Costa saved by diving to his right.

Bishop England outshot Waccamaw 6-2 in the first half, and unofficially 16-5 for the game.

In the second half, the Bishops had five shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of play. Some timely goalkeeping by Bezdek and some rushed shots kept it scoreless.

Until Morrison's goal, Bishop England's best scoring chance in the second half came in the 54th minute, when Zachary Epstein hit the crossbar.

The Warriors continued to look for the tying goal and nearly got it in the 72nd minute, when Staub shot from the right side inside the box toward the opposite post. Costa made a diving save to keep the Bishops on top.

Waccamaw had one final chance to tie the game when it was award a free kick from just outside the left side of the box. Rhyne Garrity sent the ball into the box, but the Bishops cleared it out and the whistle blew, sending them to the state championship match.

"I told the guys 1-0 was going to win the game, and fortunately we were able to get the goal," said a relieved Bishops coach Ed Khouri. "That is the beauty of the game. You miss chances, but then finally one goes in for you. We beat an excellent team, and we are grateful to be moving on."

The win was coach Khouri's 303rd at Bishop England.