Having already clinched a playoff spot after their win last week, South Georgia Tormenta’s regular season finale Saturday night was both a tune up for the playoffs but also a chance to play for seeding. 

While there was a remote possibility of Tormenta hosting a playoff game if everything broke their way, Tormenta did what they could in winning against Texoma 3-0 to close the season with nine wins in their final 11 games. Results from around the league mean that Tormenta finishes the regular season in sixth place and will travel to face the third seed Spokane Velocity  in the first round of the playoffs next week.

Tormenta jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when Jackson Simba rose up on a corner kick and was able to redirect the ball to the back of the net to put South Georgia ahead.

“I can’t explain how I feel,” the Tanzanian defender said following the match of his goal. “I feel amazing.”

While Tormenta would dominate possession and the majority of the chances in the half, they would go into halftime with just the one goal lead.

South Georgia would extend their lead in the 60th minute. Sebastian Vivas’ pass from midfield found Yaniv Bazini open behind the Texoma defense on the left. He stopped on a dime as a Texoma defender ran past him and then fired a shot high at the near post to give Tormenta some breathing room and a 2-0 lead on his 11th goal of the regular season. 

Eight minutes later Tormenta would ice the game when Bazini found some space in the middle of the pitch. He pressed forward into Texoma territory before playing a perfect through ball to Mason Tunbridge inside the box. Tunbridge’s first touch was a low shot to the far post that gave Tormenta a 3-0 lead they would maintain through the final 20 minutes of the match.

Tunbridge’s goal was the ninth of the season.

“We approached the game talking about habits and continue to show the identity that we’ve created,” said Tormenta Manager Mark McKeever. “And so the habits bleed into the culture, the culture that bleeds into high performance in training  and then that, obviously, bleed into performance on the field and in the game and good performances lead to good results. So that’s what happened tonight,” he said.

McKeever credited his team for making smart decisions, especially in moments where the opened up in a more back and forth manner. At times, he said, the game was “sloppy” but his team was able to reset and regroup before attacking.

The three goals for Tormenta gave them 55 on the season, which ties the team record for goals scored by a South Georgia team in a season.

“I’m a wee bit disappointed we didn’t get one more goal because I wanted to break that record, but we also equaled the record of undefeated games in a row, which is nine and are also really excited about that,” McKeever said. “We chase those historical moments and we talk about creating history and creating a legacy and so I think we’re on a pathway to be able to do that.”

This marks the return to the playoffs for the first time since their title winning run in 2022. Tormenta is undefeated in their playoff history, winning all three games in 2022.

“When it starts getting cold you want to have a couple more games at the end of the year and to be in the last regular season game and go in and have another week of training, it’s what you want and hopefully you add a couple more after that,” said midfielder and captain Conor Doyle. 

“It’s special. I’ve been a part of the playoffs for quite a few times in this league and it’s a fun time so I’m happy to experience it with these guys,” Doyle said.

Tormenta will face Spokane next weekend in the first round of the playoffs. The teams met twice in the regular season, with Spokane coming away with a 1-0 win in Statesboro back in May and the teams drawing 1-1 just two weeks ago.

McKeever was not with Tormenta during the first matchup as he took over when Ian Cameron stepped down as Manager in August, but he was leading the team when they last met.

“I don’t feel as though we played particularly well in Spokane, but we’ve got a group of road warriors that is willing to go and battle,” he said. “I think there’s lots of things we can really take away from an education standpoint from Spokane. We’re excited to go and hopefully give a little bit better account of ourselves this time.”

McKeever said Spokane is a very talented team that were in contention for the Players’ Shield as the best regular season club for much of the season. 

“They’re one of the most talented squads in the USL League One. They’re probably one of the favorites to go and win it, but I feel as though we can match up very well against them,” McKeever said. “I think there will probably be more goals in the next game than there was in the last.”

Doyle echoed McKeever’s sentiments about Tormenta not putting their best foot forward when they last faced Spokane.

“I think if we play to our potential, we have all the possibility in the world of going there and getting a win, but they’re a good team. I respect the crap out of them so we hopefully just go there, do what we do, score a few goals and win the game,” Doyle said.

Simba was excited about playing Spokane again.

“I know it’s far away, but we’re going to get three points over there, so be ready Spokane,” he said. 

Since McKeever took over, Tormenta has gone 9-1-2 in his 12 games in charge with South Georgia.

“It’s been a special journey,” he said. “But again, I think it’s just credit to the players and the type of players that are here and everything that was here. I didn’t create it. I’ve just come in and I did what I do and the boys have just, obviously, come together, had a passion to make this possibility happen and so all the credit goes to them.”

Tormenta and Spokane will face off on Sunday, November 2 at 8 p.m. in Spokane. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.