By John Clark
Bladen County’s middle school soccer teams had an unbelievable 2023 soccer season winning 4 championships and posting a 22-10 combined conference record for the 8 teams and a 49-27 combined overall record.
Elizabethtown’s Cougars won their final 8 games after a narrow opening loss to Nakina and captured the Waccamaw Conference’s AA Division championship led by the high-scoring Ishaq Algozy and Andrio Garcia.
Bladenboro’s Bulldogs lost their final game to Elizabethtown but still finished in 2nd place in the AA Division with a 3-1 division record and 7-2 overall mark. The Bulldog offense was keyed by Jeremiah Bryan, Jace Lesane and Sincere McKinley.
Tar Heel’s Panthers captured the Waccamaw’s A Division championship with a perfect 4-0 record. Tar Heel featured the potent duo of Levi Garcia and Alexander Saraoz and posted a 7-2 overall record with their only losses coming to Bladen AA foes Elizabethtown and Bladenboro.
Clarkton School of Discovery placed 3rd in the A Division with a 2-2 record but were 7-4 overall. The Blue Devils featured the scoring of Omar Powell, Salvador Gonzalez and Noah White. Three of their 4 overall losses were to Bladen teams.
Bladenboro’s Lady Bulldogs rolled through a perfect 9-0 season and won the Waccamaw’s AA Division championship with a perfect 4-0 record in division play. The Lady Bulldogs were led by the 3-pronged attack of Adyson Carroll, Allison Hickman and Hadley Dove.
Tar Heel’s Lady Panthers were co-champions of the Waccamaw’s A Division with a 3-1 league record and were 6-3 overall. Tar Heel tied with Williams Township for the top spot. The Lady Panthers defeated Williams in their head-to-head matchup, but a last game loss at Tabor City dropped Tar Heel into the tie.
Ashley Sandoval and Angelina Rodriguez sparked the Lady Panther offense, and Abigail Dew was a stalwart in goal.
Elizabethtown’s Lady Cougars finished in 3rd place in the AA Division with a 2-2 record and was led by Sana’a Singletary. Clarkton School of Discovery won a trio of games and finished with a 3-8 record. Rahnyia McLean and Aliah Jacobs led the Lady Blue Devil attack.
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