COLUMBIA — Southside High won its first boys soccer state championship on May 22 with a 3-0 victory over Gray Collegiate in the SCHSL Class 4A final at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The match was scoreless at halftime before the Tigers broke through in the second half.

Erik Martinez scored two goals midway through the second half within two minutes of each other. Adriel Rodriguez added the third goal to make it 3-0. Fans celebrated throughout the entire second half.

"It was a big opportunity for us," Southside head coach Luis Kuronya said after the match. "And it won't be the last."

Martinez had been hobbling during the first half and was knocked down hard multiple times before his second-half outburst. "I have a bad blister on the bottom of my foot that's been bothering me for a week or so. I had to do everything I could to support my team. I tried to forget about it, but I was feeling the pain," he said.

After the first goal, Martinez began to feel better, and after the second he nearly forgot about the blister. "That was good medicine," Martinez said.

"The second one really shocked me. I was not expecting that at all. It was a very awesome moment," he said.

Southside entered the final with an 18-1 record. Martinez led the team this season with 31 goals, and Rodriguez scored 17. The Tigers reached the Upper State championship in 2025 but lost 1-0 to Daniel before advancing to the state final this year.