On May 22, one of the best boys soccer teams in the nation was upset in its state title game. Irmo (S.C.) High entered the South Carolina High School League 4A championship game against Wando (S.C.) Highwith a perfect, 24-0 record. At least one national poll had ranked Irmo as high as No. 1 during the season, putting even more emphasis on the team's drive to try and finish off a perfect season and state title with a single flourish.
Wando had other ideas, and thanks to the spectacular goal you see above courtesy of SCHSL.tv, it got off to a running start en route to a stunning 3-1 victory that denied Irmo a state title and cemented one player's name in local soccer lore in the process.
As you can see, Wando got the game started with a spectacular goal which might be the best result off a throw-in, well, ever. The player launching the ball inbounds was Wando star Brandon Buckholder, who used the uncommon high school maneuver of a flip throw to add more velocity and distance to his inbounds pass.
Buckholder's pass flew perfectly into the box, where it was seamlessly met by the head of Wando striker Hamilton Carlin, who nodded it into the goal, sending Irmo into new catatonic shock.
In fact, Irmo was so stunned by the sudden goal that it quickly conceded another, again to Carlin, when Irmo failed to clear Wando's subsequent drive into the penalty box.
The Yellow Jackets resurrected their state and national title hopes with a 57th-minute goal to cut the team's deficit to 2-1, but Wando scored a clinching goal shortly thereafter, upsetting the general order of South Carolina soccer in the process.
While the upset itself will certainly remain in the memory banks of South Carolina soccer fans for years to come, the Buckholder-to-Carlin throw-in goal may prove to be truly timeless. Whether or not it's better than the best English Premier League throw-in goals from the likes of Stoke City's Rory Delap is a question that might be better answered by Prep Rally's brotherly soccer blog Dirty Tackle, but one thing seems certain: It has to be the best -- and most important -- throw-in goal to come in high school competition.
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