Foul end to Hammond girls soccer season doesn’t mar team’s dedication
By WORTHY EVANS
Contributing Writer
Columbia – The Hammond girls soccer team (11-7-1) fell short in a controversial 6-0 loss to Porter Gaud in the SCISA 4A championship match May 10. The Cyclones were up 1-0 in a competitive game going into the 47th minute when senior goalkeeper Maxine Palisin received a red card for an illegal touch, which put her on the bench for the rest of the game.
Two substitute goalkeepers, Arrington Earle and Olivia Leavitt, took over, but Porter Gaud scored three goals between the 49th and 54th minutes to take a 4-0 lead. The Cyclones scored two more goals before the final whistle.
The call irritated first-year head coach and former University of South Carolina football standout Ryan Brewer.
“It was crap. It really is,” he said. “You’ve got a senior keeper who comes out and it hits her chest, it could have been a handball, yes, maybe. Whatever. You could have gave her a yellow. The ref wants to make the game about him, and so these young ladies who’ve been fighting their ass off out here, that’s his prerogative, he can do whatever he wants on that, but my girls fought their tails off until that happened.”
Despite the season-ending game, the Skyhawks spring was as memorable as it was successful.
When head coach Rafael Marquez stepped down in January for personal reasons, Athletic Director Jeff Barnes heard from his old college roommate, Brewer. Better known by USC faithful as a tough, gritty athlete who lined up as a running back and receiver in Lou Holtz’s teams in the early 2000s, Brewer had a personal interest in Hammond girls soccer. Not only were his two daughters, senior Elle Brewer and sophomore Brooks Brewer, on the team, he had also known their teammates since they were kicking soccer balls at an elementary school level.
The hire worked out. Brewer’s Skyhawks won Region 1-4A with a 7-0 record. Hammond then beat Hilton Head Christian 6-1 May 6 and Pinewood Prep 1-0 May 8 to reach the championship game May 10 at Cardinal Newman’s St. Sebastian Stadium.
The ending is not what Brewer or his team wanted, but Brewer said it doesn’t tarnish his team’s work ethic throughout the season.
“It’s a bitter feeling of getting this far, definitely,” Brewer said. “How hard they worked, especially the seniors, from my daughter (Elle), Logan (Rivers), Max (Palisine), girls I’ve known since they were babies pretty much, and Kate (Weston), and Grier (Eaddy) and Arrington (Earle), the battle they’ve done out there.”
He added, “I’ve got three, four real soccer players, everyone else is just a bunch of athletes who’ve battled their tails off. I just wish we could go out with all 11 players and a keeper and see what really happens out there.”
The Hammond boys soccer team beat Northwood in the first round of the 4A playoffs May 5, but ended the season falling at Porter Gaud 4-3 May 7.
The Hammond softball team (11-10) went 2-2 in the SCISA 4A softball tournament in Sumter May 9-10. The Skyhawks beat Cardinal Newman 15-0 and fell 17-2 to eventual 4A state champion Laurence Manning Academy on May 9. The next day Hammond edged John Paul II 6-5, but saw its season come to an end with an 11-1 loss to Wilson Hall.
The Hammond baseball team (13-11) fell 7-0 to Ben Lippen May 1 in the opening round of the 4A playoffs, and ended the season with a 15-2 loss Pinewood Prep May 5.
