Golden goal sinks Bishops

COLUMBIA -- The Bishop England boys soccer team's bid for a sixth straight Class AA state title went from domination to devastation in a split second.

Bishop England outshot Batesburg-Leesville, 41-6, in the first 100 minutes of Saturday's state championship at Memorial Stadium, but the Panthers' Carlos Hernandez scored a golden goal in the 102nd minute to give his team an unlikely 1-0 triple-overtime victory and its first state championship.

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Bishop England falls to Batesburg-Leesville in Boys Soccer

The Bishop England boys' soccer team's bid for a sixth straight Class AA state title went from domination to devastation in a split second. Bishop England outshot Batesburg-Leesville 41-6 in the first 100 minutes of Saturday's state championship at Memorial Stadium, but the Panthers' Carlos Hernandez scored a golden goal in the 102nd minute to give his team an unlikely 1-0 triple-overtime victory and its first state championship.

Off the post, over the crossbar or into the keeper's hands, the Bishops' shots went every which way but in. Batesburg-Leesville keeper Austin White tallied 18 saves and Hernandez scored just 68 seconds into the first sudden-death period to sink the Bishops.

"We just weren't going to quit," Batesburg-Leesville coach Jason Mouzon said. "I don't know what else to say right now. Their tenacity, effort and their attitude the whole year has gotten us to this point. We're No. 1 in the state and best in the state. I can't believe it."

Batesburg-Leesville, which has two girls on the roster, including starting defender Deangelus Anderson, finished with a 20-7 record. The Bishops fell to 20-5-3.

Bishop England coach Ed Khouri said his team made a mental mistake in sudden-death overtime.

"We had a brain ... whatever you want to call it," he said. "The first major thing you don't do is let the ball bounce in your six yards. As a defender, that's a no-no. So the ball bounces and it gives them another opportunity to put the ball into the goal.

"It all boils down to smartness, finishing it off and composure," Khouri said. "That golden goal was total composure. That was a great shot for them. Hey, I'm not taking anything away from them because they are a good team. I hate to lose, but that's the nature of the beast. That's why soccer is the greatest game."

The Bishops outshot the Panthers, 30-6, in regulation, including 20-3 in the first half, but the only thing that mattered was the score: 0-0.

"Numbers don't tell the whole story," Mouzon said. "They have a fine program. They are a dynasty. But we're here for a reason too, and we showed everybody today that we belong. We had a great day for our school, our community. We're on top of the world right now."

Said Khouri: "We got a lot of chances, a lot of point-blank chances. We turn around and they score one goal in sudden death. That's the nature of the beast."

And that's why the Panthers were the best Saturday.

BATESBURG-LEESVILLE 1,

BISHOP ENGLAND 0

Goals: (B-L) Carlos Hernandez (102').

Shots: BE 41-7 B-L. Saves: (BE) Brandon Costa 3, (B-L) Austin White 18. Corner Kicks: BE 7-2 B-L.

Offsides: BE 0-3 B-L. Fouls: BE 12-9 B-L. Cautions: (BE) Grayson Puckett, 52'.

Ejections: none.

Officials: Eduardo Osorio (R); Joel Howle (AR), Tomas Barduskas (AR),Shaun O'Shea (4th), Kevin Stanley (5th), Barry Kemp (Timer).

Editor's note: Earlier published versions of this story gave the wrong name for the Batesburg-Leesville team. The Post and Courier regrets the error.