Sioux Falls Christian claims fourth straight in boys soccer

Sioux Falls Christian has now won four straight state boys soccer championships. The Chargers defeated Tea Area 4-2 on Saturday afternoon in Brandon to claim the title.

Brandt Griebel scored first for Sioux Falls Christian near the 10-minute mark of the first half.

The Chargers scored again late in the half, courtesy of Emerson Brazones. Tea Area did score before the midway point off of a header from Ivan Zamora.

“I think personally the first half was kind of interesting. I don’t think we were as composed as I’d like for us to be. I think when Tea scored right before halftime, to them it seemed like the momentum was swinging to them,” said Sioux Falls Christian head boys soccer coach Ephron Poyer. “I was hoping that we would score first in the second half. It would help relieve some of the pressure. We did, and so from there we were able to express ourselves a little bit more.”

Vadim Strizheus scored for the Chargers with 22:01 to play in the contest, and then Boston Gerdes found the back of the net seven minutes later.

Tea Area’s Gavin Reiners would give the Titans a late goal with 1:29 remaining, but it would be the Chargers who won this matchup.

“Well played by Tea. Whenever we play them it’s usually a good game. But we’re thankful for the way the game turned out,” stated Poyer. “Overall it was a good game.”

In the later stages of the game, coach Poyer wanted to make sure his seniors got into their final game.

“We try to get all of the seniors in, which is one thing we were able to do. They’ve been great,” explained Poyer. “Just to see the growth in them from a soccer perspective, but also in terms of their character and stuff like that. It’s been a blessing, so I’m thankful.”

This is the fifth time that Tea Area and Sioux Falls Christian have faced each other in the state boys soccer title match. The Chargers have now won three of those meetings. In total, Sioux Falls Christian's boys soccer program has won six state titles.