Southside boys soccer's Randy Vice looking forward to next season after Final Four appearance

Southside boys soccer went on a magical run this season, ending in the AHSAA Final Four for the first time in school history.

It also marked the second straight season the Panthers won more than 20 games as they ended the year with 25-3-1 record. They were led by Camren Thompson with his 52 goals. The team earned the Etowah County championship and won the Rainbow City Classic, along with a big win over Mountain Brook.

The Panthers' season came to a close last week when they fell to Guntersville, 1-0 in the AHSAA Class 5A semifinals in Huntsville. It was a tough loss to end the season but coach Randy Vice said he was still proud of the consistency that the team brought to each and every game.

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"Extremely proud of these young men. They step up and played really well all year," Vice said. "Two really big wins at the end of the year, John Carroll and Douglas. John Carroll had knocked us out in the Elite Eight last year so that was big."

While the historic and record breaking season was special for the whole team, made it even more special for Vice having his son on the team. It is Grant Vice's second season as a member of the varsity program. Randy Vice says that making his second Final Four with his son "without a doubt" made it more special.

"There are moments when its extremely special, most of the time he is just another player to the game is over. Of course we talk soccer all the time, between him and I," Randy Vice said.

Looking ahead to 2025

The Panthers will be moving up to Class 6A and while there will be new challenges, like any new season brings, they believe they are ready for the challenge. Southside played five opponents in higher classes this season and won four of the games, falling to Vestavia Hills and draw against Albertville. Vice said he believes the schedule this season will help them next season.

"I think we are very competitive at that level as well. We played a couple of 7A schools and a couple of 6A schools and won five out of the seven," Vice said. "Our area will probably be Gadsden City and Fort Payne, very competitive programs. It's going to be more difficult but I think we're ready for the challenge."

The good news is that they will return their leading goal scorer Thompson among other starters. He will also return a strong stable of goaltenders including Hayes Cosby and Aaron Herrera. They lose four players, either seniors or foreign exchange students.

For Vice, he will have excellent motivation coming out of the 2024 season to help, except it's not coming where you think it might come from. Vice won't be using the loss to Guntersville but instead will focus on the euphoria that his team felt after some of those big wins to make a return to the Final Four.

"I don't like using losses as motivation, I like using wins — how great it felt after beating Mountain Brook, or how good it felt after beating Douglas, John Carroll or Gadsden City," Vice said. "Each victory is a championship unto itself, and once kids learn that they don't want to lose that feeling."

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Southside boys soccer's Randy Vice looking forward to next season after Final Four appearance