One of the biggest preseason soccer tournaments in South Carolina was held in Lexington County last week. 

The 2025 Capital City Cup was held from Feb. 25 through March 2 at three different sites in the county. Chapin, River Bluff and Gray Collegiate’s soccer stadiums were used as host sites for the 18-team tournament. 

The 18 teams were split into two divisions, silver and gold. Within those divisions, teams were split into groups and played a round-robin schedule. 

Four Lexington County schools participated in the event, including the three host schools. White Knoll was the fourth local team and the only one in the silver division. 

Gray and Chapin kicked things off, going head-to-head in the first game of the tournament. It was a close contest, and Gray came out on top 2-1 on its home field.

River Bluff and White Knoll also played on opening night. The Gators easily took down Spartanburg 6-1. White Knoll and Richland Northeast went to overtime, and the Timberwolves conceded the game-winning goal to lose 4-3. 

Chapin was the only local team to advance to a championship game. Despite the loss to Gray, the Eagles won a tiebreaker over the War Eagles and Wando, who also had 2-1 records. 

The Eagles faced Nation Ford in the gold division championship game. The Falcons went 3-0 in their games prior to the championship round. 

Nation Ford and Chapin were neck and neck all match. The teams were tied at one goal apiece at the end of regulation, so the game went to overtime. 

Neither team scored in the two extra five-minute periods, so the game went to penalty kicks. The Eagles missed their first two shots, while Nation Ford made one to take a slight edge. 

The teams traded misses until Chapin evened the score at one goal each. Nation Ford followed that up with their second goal. Chapin failed to find the net again and the Falcons scored one more penalty to clinch the 3-1 win and gold championship. 

Unlike the gold division, the silver division had a semifinal round before the championship. 

South Aiken beat Camden 4-1, and Westside beat Spring Valley 2-1 to advance to the title match later that day.

The championship match was the second meeting of the tournament between Westside and South Aiken. Both teams were in the same silver division group with South Aiken making the semifinal as a wildcard. 

The first game was not close, with Westside winning 3-0. The second game for the championship was also not close.

Westside beat South Aiken 4-0 to claim the title and end the weekend perfect. The team outscored its opponents 15-4 in five games.

With the preseason tournament concluded, teams will now shift focus to the regular season. 

The SCHSL soccer season began this week, with many teams around Lexington County taking the field. The regular season will last until May, and then, the race for the state title begins. 

Full Capital City Cup scoreboard

Tuesday

Gray Collegiate: 2, Chapin: 1

Richland Northeast: 4, White Knoll: 3 (OT)

River Bluff: 6, Spartanburg: 1

Wando: 7, A.C. Flora: 0

Wednesday

Westside: 4, Lugoff-Elgin: 1

Spring Valley: 3, Andrew Jackson: 1

Nation Ford: 2, Blythewood: 1 (OT)

Camden: 7, Providence Athletic Club: 1

Westwood: 4, Woodland: 2

South Aiken: 5, Buford: 0

Thursday

Nation Ford: 6, Spartanburg: 0

Gray Collegiate: 3, A.C. Flora: 2

River Bluff: 3, Blythewood: 0

Providence Athletic Club: 1, Westwood: 0

Friday

Westside: 2, Buford: 1

Chapin: 1, Wando: 0

Providence Athletic Club: 2, Woodland: 0

South Aiken: 5, Lugoff-Elgin: 2

Spring Valley: 2, White Knoll: 1

Andrew Jackson: 4, Richland Northeast: 1

Camden: 4, Westwood: 1

Saturday

Buford: 3, Lugoff-Elgin: 1

Blythewood: 3, Spartanburg: 0

Chapin: 2, A.C. Flora: 0

Camden: 6, Woodland: 1

Andrew Jackson: 2, White Knoll: 1

Wando: 4, Gray Collegiate: 0

Spring Valley: 3, Richland Northeast: 0

Westside: 3, South Aiken: 0

Nation Ford: 1, River Bluff: 0 (PK)

Sunday

South Aiken: 4, Camden: 1

Westside: 2, Spring Valley: 1

Nation Ford: 4, Chapin: 1 (PK) - Gold Championship

Westside: 4, South Aiken: 0 - Silver Championship