By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

GUYTON – South Effingham boys soccer coach DaKota Paradice has a catchphrase his players might hear in their sleep.

Paradice wants his players to be “cocky in expectations, confident in preparation, and humble in results.”

“Unfortunately, we have to be humble in the results,” said Paradice about a season that will not include a state tournament appearance.

But the Mustangs are experiencing the cockiness in expectation and confidence in preparation during the final two weeks of the season with games against Savannah Arts, Calvary Day, and Benedictine.

South (12-3) defeated Arts 1-0 on April 8 and Calvary 3-0 on April 10 and will have a shot at a trifecta with Benedictine upcoming on Thursday night.

“You’d like to go into the first round of the playoffs already playing three rounds, mentally at least,” Paradice said. “We expected to be in the playoffs and that’s why we scheduled these teams.”

South’s expectations of a playoff run fell short after losing to Greenbrier 4-2 in the opening round of the region tournament, but the Mustangs are trying to end their season on a high note.

Thursday night against Calvary, SEHS tied its season-high with three goals by Ronan Mock, Kirill Stavenchuk and Zach Rozo – all in the first half.

Two goals came off set pieces from corner kicks.

“Things were definitely clicking. It was fun,” Paradice said. “The first two goals came against their (starters) so it was good to know we scored that way.”

The Mustangs started the season with a scrimmage against Benedictine so the 2025 campaign will have come full circle. SEHS had only five seniors on its roster and graduated four players who scored 10  or more goals from a 15-win 2024 team.

“It will definitely be a barometer to see how far we’ve come,” said Paradice, who will be leaving South after six years to return to Vidalia. “At the same time, we want to get everyone playing time so the next coach has a chance to see film on everyone on tape.”

SEHS girls fall in finale

South Effingham’s girls had a rough week, falling to Savannah Arts 7-0 and Calvary 8-2 to end the season on a four-game losing streak.

The Mustangs (7-9) couldn’t slow down undefeated Calvary, which peppered the hosts’ goal with 25 shots. SEHS goalie Valencia Collins registered 11 saves.

ECHS girls headed to State

Effingham County’s girls' soccer team will be the area’s lone soccer representative at state this spring. The Rebels defeated South Effingham 2-1 on April 4 in the Region 1-5A quarterfinals and advanced to the region semifinals against Greenbrier on April 15.

On Friday, the Rebels (5-9) will play either for the region championship against the winner of Lakeside-Glynn Academy or play the loser for a No. 3 or No. 4 seeding at state.

The GHSA Class 5A girls state soccer championships are slated to start on April 22.