Denmark-Olar boys soccer drops two games, seeks first win of spring

Denmark-Olar’s boys soccer team is trying to stop a slide before it deepens, after a 3-0 loss to Barnwell on Monday, April 13, and a 10-1 setback against Ridgeland Secondary Academy of Excellence on Thursday, April 16. The two defeats left the Vikings 0-8 and still searching for their first win of the spring.

The margin against Ridgeland was the sharpest sign yet of how much work remains. Denmark-Olar has now been beaten by Ridgeland twice this season, after a 9-0 loss on March 19, and the Vikings also fell 10-0 to Hardeeville on March 23. That pattern has turned the middle of April into a measuring stick for whether the program can stabilize defensively and generate more attack before the schedule tightens again.

The next chance comes Monday, April 20, at Hardeeville, with kickoff listed for 6:00 p.m. Denmark-Olar then travels to Bethune-Bowman on Friday, April 24, also at 6:00 p.m. Those two dates matter because the Vikings need more than a better score line; they need a response that shows the roster can absorb repeated losses without letting the season unravel.

That is especially important for a Bamberg County program that finished last season 3-9 overall, 2-2 in league play and second in the region, then advanced to the second round of the playoffs. This spring has looked very different. Instead of building on that stronger finish, Denmark-Olar has spent the early season trying to stay organized, keep players engaged and find enough offense to turn pressure into goals.

Assistant coach Latris Deloach is listed on the team page, and head coach Xzavier Goldsmith previously framed the program’s approach around team-first soccer, fundamental play and effort through the whistle. Those goals now face a hard test. The Vikings have already absorbed one-sided losses to Ridgeland and Hardeeville, and the next week will show whether the team can turn that adversity into a reset or whether the spring remains defined by the same defensive breakdowns and limited scoring chances that have marked the opening stretch.