Roger Lee/Journal Scene

On July 29, Randall Eads (second from right) signed to play soccer with Winthrop University. Also pictured are (l to r) Fort Dorchester coach Rick Nobbs, Kimberly Eads and Randy Eads.

Randall Eads finished his senior season as Fort Dorchester’s all-time leading scorer. Now he’s going to see what he can do with the Winthrop University soccer team.

Due to his decorated soccer career, both in high school and club ball, Eads had some choices when it came to which college program to join.

Rather than rush into a decision on the matter, he held off a bit to ensure he made the right decision. After talking to the Winthrop coaches at the North-South Soccer all-star event, he decided he liked what the Division-1 school had to offer.

“They have a great program,” Eads said after signing scholarship papers with the university July 29. “In the past six years they’ve won the Big South three times, including last year. Also, the school is a good size for me too; it’s not to big.”

Eads drew some interest from pro soccer organizations, but decided pursuing an education and honing his skills with a college team was the best option.

“It will be a faster-paced game with bigger players so it will be more challenging, but it should be exciting,” he said.

Eads plans to major in chemistry and go into pharmacy school. Winthrop has recruited several players from outside the U.S. and one of them is a student from England who will be Eads’ roommate.

Eads joined a Summerville Soccer Club 11U team early in his career and it didn’t take long for things to take off for him. He helped that team win two consecutive state championships before joining a Bridge FA team.

Primarily as a mid-fielder, he helped the Bridge team win two consecutive national championships, defeating teams from California, Ohio, Florida and various other places in the process. He was a captain on the team during one of those championship seasons.

In high school, Eads was a captain for the Patriots as both a junior and senior.  He scored 77 goals for the team and had 33 assists. His totals would have surely been hire had it not been for an ACL injury that sidelined him for much of the 2008 season.

Eads made the Region 8-AAAA all-region list three of his four years. He was also the leading scorer for the region throughout his high school career, even the year he was hurt. He was named the Patriot Offensive Player of the Year four times.

Eads left the school with a 4.0 GPA and as a Palmetto Fellow Scholar. He was one of only 18 seniors selected to play for the South team during the 2009 North-South Soccer Classic. There, he earned an assist on one of the South’s goals.

 Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.

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