Academic Magnet one win from school's first team crown

Ask Academic Magnet boys' soccer coach Troy Bennage about his squad's mindset for the 2008 season, and he'll point to a T-Shirt that reads "One Vision. One Goal. One Heartbeat."

"That's how we approach everything," the veteran coach said.

The Raptors are one win away from the first team championship in the school's 12-year history. The Raptors play Christ Church at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the University of South Carolina's Stone Stadium in Columbia. It is a repeat of the 2005 Class A state championship match.

But the Raptors are hoping for a reversal of fortune. Christ Church posted a 1-0 victory to win its fifth straight state title.

The Cavaliers are going after their seventh straight crown Saturday, but expect the Raptors to put up a fight.

They are the top-ranked team in Class A and already own a 2-1 victory over Christ Church on April 25. The Raptors enter Saturday's showdown with a 16-2 record, and the Cavaliers are 19-4-1.

"Beating Christ Church (earlier this season) could help us or hurt us," Bennage said. "It gives us a boost of confidence going in, and they have the revenge factor. That worked in their favor against Southside Christian. Southside beat them two times in the regular season and Christ Church came back to beat them 2-0 in the playoffs. I guess that if they can overcome losing to one team, they can overcome another team that has beaten them."

The Raptors breezed past Governor's School 4-0 to win the Lower State championship and reach the state championship for the second time in the program's history.

"A state championship would be a big accomplishment," Bennage said. "I guess it would signify that our program has made it to the top of the hill after such a long fight the last 12 years. We're winning and it makes a lot of kids want to participate. They want to come out and participate because we were winning. They want to be part of that."