Southside boys soccer showed perfect mix in win over Springville of why they are state contenders
SOUTHSIDE — Southside boys soccer's win over Springville on Tuesday was the perfect mix of strong play from their stars, strategic coaching moves that paid off and exceptional play from its role players.
At one point the Panthers had three starters on the bench to try and get a different style on the field in the 3-2 win over the Tigers, and after adjusting to the strengths of the role players, there was little drop off. The Panthers stars also shined as Camren Thompson had the tying goal and goalie Hayes Cosby made six saves, and settled in after allowing two early goals.
Oddly it was a player who came off the bench late, after dealing with cramps and played all over the field due to in-game adjustments who started the celebration at Barney-Hood Stadium. Ouzieph Toumiba took a throw-in during extra time and beat the Tiger's goalie. All in, it showed how deep this Panthers' squad is.
SOUTHSIDE STILL ON TOP: Southside, Guntersville top Gadsden area high school soccer top 5 for week of April 17
MISS BASKETBALL: Spring Garden standout & Alabama women's basketball commit Ace Austin wins Miss. Basketball
"This is probably one of the deepest squads we've had in years. We can put anyone off that bench and they'll come in and give 100% and I'm confident in my team that we can go far in states — we can win it," Thompson said.
The game was a bit of a wake up call for the Panthers with the playoffs around the corner that they can't start slow and need to play a full 80 minutes, or they could find themselves in a similar position.
"It shows us that we have to be ready off the start. If we're not ready off the start, we're going to concede like we did here two goals and we'll be down. You never know you could lose second half. You always got to start fast, play fast," Thompson said.
It wasn't just a perfect mix to win a game, the Panthers showed the right mix that will be needed if this is finally the year they bring a Blue Map trophy home to Southside in boys soccer. They have made deep playoff runs to the Elite Eight under coach Randy Vice but haven't won the whole thing, yet that's the goal like any season.
"Every year we get on the field, if we weren't capable of it we wouldn't get on the field so I guess that's the best answer but I also don't believe in looking too far ahead," Vice said. "Our goal has to be to win the next game."
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports and Jacksonville State athletics for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Southside boys soccer shows why they are state title contenders
