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Oak Mountain's Brad Louis stops Vestavia's Jack McDaniel in Class 6A final. (Todd Thompson photo)
Oak Mtn., John Carroll, Montgomery Acad. Girls Win
Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Indian Springs Boys Claim Soccer Titles
Oak Mountain, John Carroll And Montgomery Academy girls captured AHSAA state soccer championships Saturday along with the Vestavia Hills, Homewood and Indian Spring boys at Huntsville's John Hunt Park.
Class 6A Girls: Oak Mountain 1, Mountain Brook 0
Oak Mountain’s Julia Lee Buckner scored the match’s only goal 10 minutes into the second half and the Lady Eagles nipped rival Mountain Brook 1-0 to claim the title.
Coach Pete Dakis’ Lady Eagles (26-0-1) finished the season undefeated and notched the school’s fifth girls state soccer crown in the process.
Buckner made her only shot on goal with an assist from Monica Lucy Thrasher. Mountain Brook (15-7-2) played well defensively and took 19 shots to Oak Mountain’s six. Goalkeeper Kate Maria Denney had seven saves for the Eagles and Heitho Shipp had three saves for the Lady Spartans.
Class 5A Girls: John Carroll Catholic 2, Athens 0
John Carroll Catholic downed Athens 2-0 to capture the championship
The Lady Cavaliers (29-3-1) scored early with goal just two minutes into the contest when Lindsey Fleming scored on an assist from Nicole Bernal. Claire McPherson added the second goal 36 minutes later thanks to a pass from Class 5A girls’ state tournament MVP Caroline Moffitt.
Coach David Dipiazza’s team limited Athens (16-6-2), the 2013 state champion, to just three shots on goal to seal the shutout win.
Athens goalkeeper Tifani Dunaway had eight saves to lead the Golden Eagles.
Class 1A-4A Girls: Montgomery Academy 3, Randolph 0
Montgomery Academy downed defending Class 1A-4A state champion Randolph 3-0 in the finals. The Lady Eagles (17-2-0), coached by Elvar Gudjonsson, have now won four state championships overall including three of the last four.
Garrett Barnes scored one goal in the finals and two in the semifinals to earn Class 1A-4A state tourney MVP honors. Elizabeth Robertson added a goal. The team was credited with the first goal.
Randolph (18-5-3) got a big performance from goalkeeper Daria Zarzeka. She finished with five saves.
Class 6A Boys: Vestavia Hills 2, Oak Mountain 0
Vestavia Hills senior forward Nate Dauphin scored two goals and the Rebels defense did the rest en route to a 2-0 win over Oak Mountain to claim championship for the second straight year.
Coach Rick Grammer’s Rebels (24-2-1) limited Oak Mountain ((21-3-3) to just seven shots all day.
Dauphin, named 6A championship match MVP, made the most of his opportunities with three shots on goal. His first goal came at 35:59 and his second with 18 minutes remaining in the second half.
Goalkeepers Thornton Henry and Brad Lewis had three saves each for the Eagles.
Class 5A Boys: Homewood 3, Fort Payne 1
The Patriots (17-6-1) scored two goals in the final eight minutes to take a 3-1 victory over Fort Payne in the 5A finals.
Coach Sean McBride’s team was led sophomore William Jackson, who scored the final goal with 2:34 to play and also assisted in two other Homewood goals by Jackson Lynn and Christopher Simpson.
Fort Payne (22-7-0) was led by goalkeeper Alex Laroye-Westlake, who had 11 saves, and Luis Guardia, who scored the Wildcats’ goal at the 50:11 mark to tie the match at 1-1.
Class 1A-4A Boys: Indian Springs 2, Randolph 1
Class 1A-4A tournament MVP Reeves Duggan scored both goals as Indian Springs captured the crown with a 2-1 win over Randolph School.
Duggan scored once in each period for Indian Springs (24-2-0), coached by Rik Tozzi. Eli Cohen and Rakim Ali each had an assist. Goalkeeper Ramsey Rossman also had six saves on goal.
Omer Yousuf scored at the 62-minute mark for Randolph (14-7-2).