Why Waccamaw's back-to-back state soccer titles couldn't be more different (2024)

PAWLEYS ISLAND— Sure, Waccamaw's girls soccer team won back-to-back state championships.

But the two title runs couldn't be more different.

“Last year [when] we won, it was a dream season,"head coach Mark Sanchez said. "And then this year, I call it the season of heart and resilience because that’s what my girls were this year. They had a heart of a champion [and were] resilient. We literally at the beginning of March, middle of March, had lost four girls completely to season-ending injuries.”

The losses left the Warriors with 14 players, with senior midfielder Meaghan Matthews recovering from a hamstring injury and junior striker Lindsay Latimer, who scored both goals in Waccamaw’s 2-0 win over Powdersville in the state championship May 10, dealing with shin splints.

“I had a feeling that we would get there, we would definitely get to the state title, but my whole thing was how much gas do we have left in the tank?” Sanchez said. “That was the biggest thing. That was the biggest concern with us, you know? How much can we hold off these teams, you know?”

Another huge part of Waccamaw’s success on the pitch was senior captain midfielder Maris Jennings, who Sanchez considered the heart of the team.

“I’m really proud of just the team and how we came together at the end to be able to pull this off,” Jennings said. “It’s something that we had to work really hard for and we all did our job to come up with the end result that we wanted. So we all had our little jobs that we needed to do, and everyone did it and did it to the best of their abilities. So I’m proud to be part of a team that was able to do that … It shows how bad that we really wanted to win going through at least the second half of the season with only two subs, three at one point.

“… A lot of us, we were pretty tired by the end of the season, but it just showed how bad that we really wanted it. So we just continued to work hard until the end.”

Of the two high school state titles and two club titles he’s won as a coach, Sanchez said this one was the hardest.

Waccamaw will lose five seniors, including Jennings, who will be playing soccer at Miami of Ohio next season. Other departures include captain Harper Royal, captain Ava Cavallino, Matthews and Grace Gibson.

However, Sanchez said the goal is always to try to get to the state championship.

"We’ll be OK," Sanchez said. "Are we going to be like last year or this year? Probably not, but who’s to say that we won’t? We’re going to try. We’re going to work hard and do the best that we can … It’s kind of like a rebuilding year. So next year, obviously we have Oceanside coming into our class so we’re going to have to deal with that, but I mean, our goal is always every year is to win states. That’s our ultimate goal and obviously we’ve been blessed the last couple of years if you think about it.”