The 16th annual Coastal Empire All-Star Soccer event was the brainchild of Windsor Forest soccer coach Cam Turner as a way to showcase the talent from the Greater Savannah area and help local players get on the radar of college coaches.
It has also turned into an end-of-the year soccer celebration as the top boys and girls players from Southeast Georgia get a chance to enjoy one more game in the sport they love — sharing the moment with teammates, coaches, opponents, family and friends.
This year’s event, set for Saturday, May 16th at Islands High School, became even more important after the Islands boys and Savannah Arts boys made the trip to Atlanta earlier in the week and became the first public school programs in Savannah history to win state titles.
Islands was first as Justin Brantley’s squad rolled to a 6-0 victory over East Hall on Tuesday night at Duluth High to win the Class 3A state championship. The Sharks won the first overall team title in any sport in the school’s history in their first appearance in the finals.
On Wednesday night, Savannah Arts followed suit as the Panthers knocked off region rival Pierce County for the third time this season with an impressive 2-0 victory at St. Pius X High School to win the Class 2A crown.
Both teams will be well represented in the Coastal Empire All-Star event, Turner said.
“This was the best week in Southeast Georgia history,” Turner said after the Savannah Arts win. “First Islands wins a state championship and then Savannah Arts followed it up. It totally legitimizes soccer in our area. I’ve been involved with soccer in the Coastal Empire for 30 years and this is the best it’s ever been.”
Turner said a big crowd showed up Tuesday night at Coach’s Corner in Thunderbolt to watch Islands take home the Class 3A crown. And then on Wednesday, Brantley was there with his Sharks squad and another strong contingent of Savannah soccer fans to cheer on the Panthers in their victory.
“It was great to see our soccer community come together to support Islands and Savannah Arts and celebrate what they accomplished,” Turner said. “And we’ll get another chance to do it Saturday at the All-Star event. Both teams are going to bring their state championship trophies to show off, while a lot of their players will take the field to show off their talents.”
There were 97 girls and 105 boys nominated to play in the game this year with more than 30 schools set to be represented in the event.
There will be three girls games contested with the boys playing four games. Girls games start at 10 a.m., with boys games beginning at 1 p.m. at Islands Stadium.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: State soccer champs to be celebrated at Coastal Empire All-Star event
