SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – Being doused with ice water on a February night never felt better to Effingham County’s Chase Weitman.
The Rebel alum, who experienced the last ECHS soccer victory over South Effingham during his first varsity season in 2017, felt the chills of breaking a nine-year winless drought against the Mustangs during his first year as head coach.
In dramatic fashion, the Rebels saw a two-goal lead vanish in the second half, only to recover in a game-ending shootout for a 2-2 (4-3 PK) victory over their cross-county rivals Wednesday night at Rebel Field.
ECHS goalie Eric Hoffman stopped two penalty kicks during the shootout, and teammate Jackson Wilhoite netted the game-winner, sparking a celebration reminiscent of 2017.
Weitman praises team effort
“It’s definitely exciting for the boys,” Weitman said. “It was a big mission because all they heard all week was that South has the better soccer players.”
It was hard to argue with the stats. The Mustangs had beaten the Rebels in nine straight games and posted a 10-0-2 mark in the series since March 3, 2017.
Rebels jump early, Mustangs rally
But ECHS proved the more physical team Wednesday. Two quick goals by Deagan Duttenhoffer and Wilhoite during the opening 13 minutes put South on the back foot all night.
Tim France got the Mustangs on the scoreboard with a long blast from about 25 yards at the start of the second half, then poked in a loose ball in the box with 4:57 remaining in regulation to tie the game. South (4-2) outshot the Rebels 10-6 in the second half.
“We kept the pressure up the entire second half. That’s how we’ve been playing this year,” said SEHS coach Brandon Howard, whose squad had a four-game winning streak entering the match.
Shootout heroics seal the win
When the contest entered a shootout, ECHS made the big plays. Hoffman stopped the first two attempts and Wilhoite, playing with a sprained ankle, broke the deadlock with a perfectly placed shot inside the left corner of the goal.
“Eric made two amazing saves and I was just there to finish it off,” Wilhoite said. “We worked hard for this. The way we’ve been working, I knew we would win.”
Rebels look ahead
The Rebels, who won only three games last season, evened their record at 2-2 ahead of a key game against Greenbrier on Friday.
“I think this could be a light-bulb moment for us,” Weitman said. “We keep saying if we do all the little things, it will show on the field, and it did tonight.”
