Greer won its first Class 3A Region III championship, clinching it before its final region game. Its 3-1 win over York on Monday was Greer’s first playoff win.
Coach Rob DePaol allowed his team extra time before he entered the locker room after the game. “My thoughts on soccer is it’s a very cruel sport,” DePaol said.
“I will remind them again of all the great things they have accomplished,” DePaol said. “The region championship, playoff win, six shutouts and 10-8 record are some of the things they should be proud.”
Walhalla scored the game’s first goal and it took Greer most of the first half to tie. “I thought we started off slow but built some momentum when we scored,” DePaol said. “When Walhalla came back and quickly scored its second goal to retake the lead, I think it was such a shock to us. And they quickly added another goal to go up by two (3-1). We weren’t able to recover from it.”
That scenario was the same on Monday night when Greer gave up a goal to York only to come back to win. DePaol said he thought Greer would again build momentum that would launch it to victory.
Greer had precedent in coming back from a three-goal deficit. “We were down to Blue Ridge by three goals in the first game with them and came back to win,” DePaol said. “That’s what I told the team at halftime. We came back once and we can do it again. I thought we were within reach.
“We’ve done a lot of good things and it will sink in for the players in a few days,” DePaol said. “Unless you win the last game and the state championship, there will always be a sour taste.”