Coastal Kings pick up massive 4-3 win over the Heat in Columbia
The win keeps the King’s playoff push moving up the table.
It was a 4-3 win for the Coastal Kings Sunday night in Columbia over the South Carolina United Heat. The win moves the Kings just outside the top four in the conference standings with just one match left to play in the 2025 fall campaign.
The Heat (8W-2L-0T on 24 points) entering the match were already locked into the second seed in the conference standings and despite the setback still look to be a formable force just ahead of the postseason in a couple of weeks.
The Coastal Kings scored an early goal to grab the lead but that was cancelled out by the Heat goal at the 20-minute mark to level the score. The Kings then struck in the 30th and 45th minute to hold a 3-1 advantage at the break.
A flurry of chances for the Heat were turned away by the excellent play of the King’s keeper to open the second half and the Kings looked like they were cruising to the win with their fourth goal in the 80th minute. The Heat, however, made the final moments very tense as they mounted a furious comeback to cut the King’s lead to 4-3 but were just unable to find the final strike to level the match late.
The Heat now await the playoff pairings as the No. 2 seed while the Kings have one final match versus Charleston United on November 15 in Savannah. A win for the Kings on this final match day would vault the Kings over Mint Hill (regular season complete) and into a tie with third-place Charleston both sitting on 16 points. Charleston defeated the Kings 2-0 earlier in the year and the Kings with a favorable win can split the series and pass Charleston if the goal differential is in the King’s favor.
