The opening round of the SCHSL Playoffs began Tuesday night across the state. Several area teams advanced to the second round while some saw their 2023 season come to an end. 

Second round action is slated for Friday night. 

5A

Chapin

The Region IV-5A champs moved on to the second round Tuesday night after defeating Woodmont by a score of 2-0. 

The Eagles got goals from Darcy Ahern and Lila Bowers that were assisted by Caroline Carter and Anna Cirillo. 

Like they have many times this season, Chapin’s goalkeeper tandem of Olivia Bradley and Addison Bagnal kept Woodmont off the scoreboard. Bradley was credited with three saves and Bagnal was credited with one. 

Chapin advances to 16-2 on the season and moves on to the second round of the SCHSL Playoffs where it will face the winner of James F. Byrnes and Blythewood.

River Bluff

Like Chapin, the River Bluff Gators also advanced to the second round of the playoffs by way of a home shutout, beating Stratford 5-0.

An Alanna Colbert hat trick helped separate River Bluff from Stratford and gave her 13 goals on the season. Colbert’s goals were assisted by MT Campbell, Emerson Marshall and Maliha Brown.

River Bluff got additional goals from Brooke Ogorek and Charlotte Wiman (assisted by Mia Williams).

The Gators will face Ashley Ridge in the second round Thursday night. Ashley Ridge finished as the second place team in Region VII and defeated Conway 10-2 in the first round Tuesday.

Lexington

The Wildcats became the third team from Region IV to advance to the second round Tuesday night with their 7-1 blowout win at Socastee.

The Wildcats got a pair of goals from Adriana Dunat and Maggie Hefernan as well as individual goals from Jaylynn Kemmerlin, Alyssa Frazier and Lily Brandenburg. The seven goals were assisted by Dunat, Ava Brown, Sam Dunn, Frazier (2) and Heffernan.

Thursday night, Lexington will travel to Wando to take on the Region VI champs for a spot in the state quarterfinals. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Wando and Lexington played all the way back in February with the game ending in a scoreless tie. 

White Knoll

The Timberwolves’ season came to an end Tuesday night with a 6-1 loss at Region I champ, J.L. Mann. 

White Knoll ends the 2023 season with an overall record of 6-12-2 and a fourth place finish in Region IV-5A. 

Dutch Fork

The Silver Foxes gave Region VII champs West Ashley all they could handle Tuesday night, but fell just short of an upset with a 1-0 loss.

Dutch Fork squeaked into the playoffs as the lone 5A at-large bid and was only one goal away from pulling off an upset against a team that came into the game with a 13-2-2 record. 

The Silver Foxes’ 2023 season comes to a close with an overall record of 9-8.

4A

Irmo

The Irmo Yellow Jackets fell in their first round playoff game 5-0 to West Florence.

They struggled early in the game to manage the windy conditions and the talented West Florence attack as they gave up four goals in the first half to go to the break with a 4-0 deficit. 

In the second half, a few penalties and defensive lapses resulted in one last West Florence goal to seal the 5-0 final score. 

Irmo Head Coach Christian Villi is still encouraged by his team’s progress this season and that his young team (he played eight freshmen this season) will improve now that they have a year under their belt.

After the game, Villi was also appreciative of the five seniors' efforts in building towards the progress they made to make it back to the playoffs. Out of the five seniors, three will be playing college soccer as Evelyn Garcia heads to Spartanburg Methodist College, Keara Hardenbrook heads to USC Sumter and Mackenzie Kirk is undecided but has received offers from multiple schools. 

Airport

The Airport Eagles advanced to the second round of the playoffs with an impressive shutout win against Berea.

Airport got goals from Victoria and Vanessa Coleman that were assisted by Bre White and Layla Jackson.

The first round win sets up a match with Indian Land, a team that went 16-2-1 in the regular season, in the second round on the road. Indian Land earned a bye in the first round and will be making their 2023 postseason debut when the Eagles arrive. That game will be played Thursday.

3A

Gilbert

The Gilbert Indians advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a dominant 7-0 win against Hanahan at home. 

Kinzlee Mozley was the star of the night with a four-goal performance. Brisa Greene, Olivia Pitillo and Alyssa Aleman also scored goals for Gilbert. 

Aleman had an impressive night of her own with three assists to go along with her goal. Pitillo, Lauren Ansell, Ainsley Bryan and Mackenzie Tate also recorded assists in the win.

In net, goalkeepers Hannah Miles and Kylie Morton helped keep Hanahan off the scoreboard.

Even with Mozley having a notable night, she credits her teammates for the exciting win to move them on to the second round.

“Super proud of how our team worked together tonight to rack up the goals and secure a spot in second round, couldn’t be prouder of the love and care our team shows each other on and off the field. Looking forward to a tough Waccamaw team on Thursday,” Mozley said after the game.

Head Coach Michael Kleinfelder was not only pleased with the dominant performance, but the effort it took for his team to get the desired results.

“This is such a fun team to work with. They came out with a plan today and executed. We know we still have a long way to go but this was a great start. Could not be any prouder in the effort the team showed tonight,” Kleinfelder said. 

Gilbert hits the road to take on Region VII champion Waccamaw on Thursday night at 6. 

Brookland-Cayce

The Bearcats fell 3-1 to Beaufort Tuesday night to conclude their 2023 season.

The loss gives Brookland-Cayce a final record of 12-13 on the season. 

Swansea

Like Brookland-Cayce, the Swansea Tigers saw their 2023 campaign run conclude on Tuesday night with a 7-0 road loss to Phillip Simmons.

Swansea’s playoff loss cements their final 6-9 record. 

2A

Gray Collegiate

Gray Collegiate Academy took down Wade Hampton by a score of 2-1 Tuesday night. 

The win was the War Eagles’ 12th of the season and advances them to the second round. Their second round matchup will be a battle of the collegiate academies as they are set to take on Oceanside Collegiate Academy out of Mt. Pleasant Thursday afternoon. The winner of that game gets the winner of Fox Creek and York Prep.

Batesburg-Leesville

The Panthers of Batesburg-Leesville lost their first round playoff game Tuesday night on the road against Brashier Middle College Charter 3-1.

The loss officially puts an end to their 2023 season with a final record of 5-14.