By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – South Effingham boys soccer coach DaKota Paradice knew the end was nearing, just not this near.
The Mustangs lost their region tournament semifinal clash to Greenbrier 4-2 on Friday night and failed to make the state playoffs – Paradice’s first and only season without a postseason appearance in his five full seasons as a coach.
Paradice said he was leaving SEHS for family reasons and had accepted a job to coach at his alma mater, Vidalia High School.
“It hurts, particularly since this is my last year with the (Mustang) boys,” Paradice said. “At the end of the day, we’ve done something special at South and there are good things ahead for whoever takes over.”
Paradice compiled a 70-24-3 record with SEHS after six seasons, one an abbreviated 5-1-1 slate because of COVID in 2020.
SEHS still has games remaining with Savannah Arts (April 8), Calvary (April 10) and Benedictine (April 17).
A win against Greenbrier would have catapulted the Mustangs to state. But the Wolfpack (9-4) scored on three of their first four shots and built a 3-0 lead.
South rallied by goals from Jude Rowe off a free kick with 3:24 left in the first half and Christian Perez’s rebound poke with 28 minutes remaining in the second half.
Down the stretch, the Mustangs took chances looking for the equalizer. South’s best chance came with about 10:30 left when Greenbrier’s defense turned away Jaxson Fronczek’s header after a corner kick.
Goalie DeMari Chermely made several diving stops during the open field exchange, but Greenbrier sealed the victory when Noah Weaver converted a penalty kick for his third goal with just 4:31 to play.
Weaver, a sophomore, finished with three goals.
“They’re fast, they’re tall, and on the backline, they’re physical,” Paradice said. “It was good execution on their end.”
But it was a tough way to finish the season for South. Greenbrier (9-4) dropped to a No. 3 seeding when Lakeside (6-8) defeated North subregion champ Evans.
“I don’t think anyone thought we’d be a 10-3 team at this point,” Paradice said.
ECHS falls to Glynn Academy 6-0
Effingham County’s boys dropped a 6-0 decision to South subregion’s top seed Glynn Academy last Friday night in the opening round of the Region 1-5A soccer tournament.
The Rebels (3-11) will finish their season Thursday against Wayne County.
Glynn (11-3) advanced to the region semifinals and a spot in the state tournament with the win. The Red Terrors will play Greenbrier.
