A pair of perfect region seasons ended in titles for the Chapin boys and Lexington girls. 

It is the second consecutive region championship for both teams after they also finished last with perfect records. 

The Eagles went (6-0) against conference competition, outscoring their opponents 113-32. The team beat second-place River Bluff and third-place Lexington by a combined score of 40-20. 

Chapin is (10-3) overall this season with losses to Wando, North Carolina’s Charlotte Christian and Texas’ Southlake Carroll. 

The team relies primarily on a group of experienced players. Seniors Eddie Wright, Malachi Merkovsky and Ethan Moore lead the group in scoring. Junior James Stevens is the go-to faceoff guy, securing his team multiple possessions. 

With the top spot in the region locked, Chapin will focus on entering the postseason healthy and in top form. The team has three games to go before the playoffs begin. 

Chapin will travel to Eastside this week before hosting Byrnes. The team will end its season against Greenbrier on April 17. 

River Bluff’s boys secured second in the region, finishing (5-1). That one loss to Chapin is the Gators’ only loss this season.

Lexington finished third, going (4-2). Dutch Fork is fifth at (2-4), and White Knoll went winless in the region this season, finishing seventh at (0-6), 

Lexington’s girls went (7-0) in region and began this week (11-2) overall. In region games, Lexington dominated on both ends, outscoring opponents 133-22. Both of those numbers are league-best. 

The Wildcats have a fun mix of youth and experience that makes for a highly energetic team. 

Senior Lily Sundell is the engine, averaging six goals and two assists per game. McKenna Bowen, Ella Copeland and Lauren Crowley are some of the many other key players on the team. 

Lexington is looking to defend its 2025 5A Division I state title. While many of that team’s top players are gone, there is still a similar core and team identity in place. 

The Wildcats have three games to go before the playoffs where the team will be one of the top seeds. 

Looking down the standings, Chapin and River Bluff are competing for a spot behind Lexington. 

The Gators have one conference game left against Irmo and could finish the year with a (5-2) conference record. 

Chapin began this week (2-1) in region with more games to go than River Bluff. The Eagles beat the Gators in their head-to-head, meaning Chapin would need to drop two more for River Bluff to leap into second. 

Dutch Fork and White Knoll are down lower in the standings, sitting in fifth and sixth. The Silver Foxes have two games to go and could rise as high as fourth, but could just as easily fall. 

White Knoll has one region game left and can finish no better than (2-5). 

Outside of 5A, Gilbert’s boys team returned to the field and improved to (5-4) this season after a 12-7 win over Fox Creek. 

The Indians are in their second year of existence and have already made much improvement after a winless debut season. 

Gilbert has four games to go and needs to finish (2-2) to secure a winning season. 

Upcoming games to watch 

River Bluff at May River boys - April 10

Chapin vs. Byrnes boys - April 10

Dutch Fork vs. Blythewood girls - April 13

White Knoll at Greenbrier boys - April 14

White Knoll at Aiken girls - April 14

River Bluff vs. Oceanside girls - April 15

Last week’s scoreboard 

Chapin boys - Lakeside (17-8, W), Dutch Fork (21-5, W)

Chapin girls - Dutch Fork (21-7, W), JL Mann (12-9, W)

Dutch Fork boys - Hillcrest (22-3, W), Chapin (21-5, L)

Dutch Fork girls - Chapin (21-7, L)

Lexington boys - Blythewood (11-5, W), River Bluff (11-9, L)

Lexington girls - Blythewood (19-2, W), Spring Valley (21-1, W)

River Bluff boys - White Knoll (17-3, W), Lexington (11-9, W)

River Bluff girls - White Knoll (21-4, W), Lucy Beckham (17-8, L)

White Knoll boys - River Bluff (17-3, L), Spring Valley (8-7, L)

White Knoll girls - River Bluff (21-4, L), Mauldin (18-10, L), Spring Valley (15-14, L)

Gilbert boys - Fox Creek (12-7, W)