Gray Collegiate’s quest for its first boys state soccer championship has again come up just short, with the War Eagles losing to the defending champions from Oceanside 3-0 in the title match.

The War Eagles and Landsharks were deadlocked in a scoreless match the majority of the way, but Oceanside scored three goals in the game’s final 26 minutes to shut Gray out.

“Oceanside’s the best team in the state two years running, to be honest with you,” Gray head coach Kevin Heise said. “We knew we had to play an almost perfect game for us to have success here today.”

This loss marked the third consecutive championship loss for Gray, who fell to Oceanside last year and Christ Church in 2022. Head coach Kevin Heise is now 0-6 in championship games between his time at Gray and Brookland-Cayce, despite being one of the state’s all-time winningest coaches.

“You don’t know the next time you get back,” Heise said. “Every year is a challenge to get here. You have got to stay healthy. You have got to be a little bit lucky. You have got to be good. I mean, you don’t get to the final without being a good team and having an above-average year.  And I think we’ve done that three straight years.”

Both teams had plenty of opportunities to swing momentum their way much earlier in the game but failed to convert them. Oceanside controlled the majority of possessions, forcing Gray to rely more on transition offense and sturdy defense.

Oceanside broke through in the 54th minute off of a freekick, which bounced off the hands of goalie Joey Sullivan and into the goal. This was the first goal the War Eagles allowed all postseason, but it was not the last.

The War Eagles fought desperately to respond but could not buy a goal. Oceanside increased its margin in the 74th minute with a goal that deflated the morale of Gray’s players. Five minutes of game time later, the Landsharks scored another goal, which served as the final blow.

“We had to kind of punch above our weight today,” Heise said. “For maybe 60 minutes, 65  minutes, we might have done it. But you got to do it for 80, or 80 plus, and we couldn’t get that part of it done.”

Gray ends 2024 27-6-3. The team will look very different heading into next season with nine players set to graduate, including its leading scorer Carlos Vasquez.

“Credit to the senior class for putting us in that position,” Heise said. “They had an unbelievable career. The only thing we were missing was a state title. So if you sign me up and you’re playing on the last day every year, I’ll take it. It’s a little bit bittersweet right now, but it’s better than the alternative of not being here.”

The War Eagles will not get another revenge shot against Oceanside in the foreseeable future with the new realignment plan separating the schools starting next year. Gray will jump two classes from 2A to 4A, and Oceanside will move up to 3A.

Heise said despite moving to a higher class, he expects his team to remain competitive and shoot for a spot in the final weekend every year.

“I don’t think anybody’s any better in 4A than Oceanside is. I mean, heck, I think they’re better than anybody in 5A,” he said. “Classifications are just that. There are a lot of numbers, But there are bad 5A teams too. So, numbers are just numbers. Sometimes it comes down to the quality of your 11.”