Bishop England grad Costa to coach school’s soccer squad

Bishop England High School didn’t have to look too far or wide to find its next boys’ soccer coach. The school named BE grad Brandon Costa as its next coach. He will guide what is arguably South Carolina’s most successful program with a record 17 state titles.

 

“I’m excited to be part of the program,” said Costa, who graduated from BE in 2010. “I’ve been doing this (coaching) for a while, and the BE job is something that I’ve always wanted to do.

 

Costa played soccer at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and his coaching career actually began while he was a student at UCCS. Since then, he’s coached at just about every level, including men’s and women’s soccer from ages 5-25.

 

He takes over as coach after Patrick Khouri served in the top spot for one season. Prior to that, the team was coached by Ed Khouri, who turned the program into one of the best in the state with more than 500 career victories.

 

Costa was a goalkeeper at BE and played on three of the state championship teams from 2007-2009. He was named all-state his senior year after posting 13 shutouts for the Bishops, who reached the state championship game and finished with a 20-5-3 record.

 

“The Bishop England program has this legacy that coach Khouri created,” Costa said. “I lived that legacy. All of my experience as a player and coach will help me relate with the kids.”

 

Costa served as an assistant at Lenoir-Rhyne University and Erskine College. He also coached for the Charleston Soccer Club. He comes to Bishop England from Wando High School where he served as an assistant to Shilo Tisdale for the past two seasons.

 

CROSS-COUNTRY

 

The Bishop England and Philip Simmons cross-country teams were impressive as they began their postseason marches to the state championships, which will be held the first week in November.

 

The Bishop girls won the Region 7-AA championship with a 21-49 victory over Academic Magnet at Timberland High School. Meanwhile the Bishop boys claimed a 25-31 victory over Academic Magnet.

 

The Iron Horse boys and girls also had easy victories in the Region 8-AAA race, which was hosted by Beaufort High School and contested at the Sargent Jasper Park in Hardeeville. The Iron Horse boys topped North Charleston 18-51 while the girls managed a 22-55 victory over North Charleston.

 

Bishop England’s Nora Brahim and Madison Riley finished 1-2 to lead the team to victory. Brahim covered the 5-kilometer course in 17:44.0 while Riley’s time was 18:16.17.

 

Jackson Muller and Charlie Tessier finished 2-3 to lead the Bishop boys to the victory over the Raptors. Muller clocked in at 16:04.73 and Tessier ran a 16:28.24.

 

Meanwhile, the Iron Horse boys dominated the Region 8-AAA race by sweeping the medals. Pierce Walker won the gold with a time of 15:56.57 while Joseph Wright claimed the silver medal and Ian Mullaney claimed the bronze.

 

The Iron Horse girls were led by eighth-grader Laura Perry, who ran an 18:20.54 to claim the gold medal. Avah Malik claimed the silver in 18:47.03.