Soccer Championships Set For 1A-4A, 5A & 6A
Oak Mountain and Mountain Brook in Class 6A girls, Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills in Class 6A boys, John Carroll Catholic and Athens in Class 5A girls, Homewood and Fort Payne in Class 5A boys, Montgomery Academy and Randolph in Class 1A-4A girls, and Indian Springs and Randolph in Class 1A-4A boys claimed wins Friday and advanced to Saturday's championship matches in the 24th annual AHSAA State Soccer Tournament at Huntsville’s John Hunt Park.
All championship matches will be live-streamed over the subscriber-based NFHS TV Network. Click here to subscribe or sign-in.
girls' Class 6A Semifinals
Mountain Brook 2, Huntsville 1 (5-3 in shootout): The Lady Spartans (15-6-2) won the tough defensive battle nailing all five free kicks in the shootout. Huntsville (18-4-2) made three. Mountain Brook took the early lead when Anna Catherine Gillespy scored just 2:31 into the match. The Panthers tied the match with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation when Kelly Dorney nailed a goal. Both defenses did the rest to force two overtime periods to set up the shootout.
Huntsville goalkeeper Laura Graves had three saves and Mountain Brook keeper Heitho Shipp had two.
Oak Mountain 4, McGill-Toolen 1: Four players scored goals for unbeaten Oak Mountain (25-0-1) – Alexandra Dunn, Julianne Jackson, Julia Pack and Julia Buckner. Annie Addison scored the lone goal for McGill-Toolen (23-6-0). McGill keeper Eva Knapstein recorded 10 saves.
The championship match is set for 12:30 p.m.
BOYs’ Class 6A Semifinals
Vestavia Hills 3, Huntsville 2: The defending state champion Rebels (22-2-1) took a 3-0 first half lead and then held off a determined Huntsville team to seal the win. Nate Dauphin, Jarrod Nieves and Taylor Strange notched goals for Vestavia. Jeorge Rodriguez and Baily Oliver had goals in the second half for Huntsville (19-5-2). Oliver also had an assist.
Oak Mountain 4, Fairhope 0: Mark Green scored two goals for the winning Eagles (21-2-3), Patrick Carroll added a goal and an assist, and Tyler Luckett scored the final goal on an assist from Hector Hernandez. Fairhope (15-5-4) managed only three shots on goal against the Oak Mountain defense.
The title match kicks off at 3 p.m.
Girls’ Class 5A Semifinals
John Carroll Catholic 5, Pinson Valley 0: The Lady Cavaliers (28-3-1) scored four goals in the first half with Caroline Moffitt, Alexandra Maziarz, Nicole Bernal and Claire McPherson netting one each. Moffitt picked up her second goal early in the second half to close out the scoring. Bernal also had two assists.
Pinson Valley (11-9-0) did not have a shot on goal.
Athens 1, St. Paul’s Episcopal 0 (3-1 in shootout): The two teams played outstanding defense through regulation and two overtimes before settling the outcome in a shootout. The Lady Eagles (16-6-2) moved into the finals making 3 of its 5 free kicks on goal. St. Paul’s managed just one against Athens goalkeeper Tifani Dunaway.
The Saturday championship match is set for 10 a.m.
Boys’ Class 5A Semifinals
Homewood 5, Pinson Valley 1: Ryan Hepp scored two goals and teammate Christopher Castro had one goal and two assists to lead the Patriots (16-6-1) into the finals. William Jackson and Jack Schiller scored Homewood’s other two goals.
Leading Pinson Valley (15-5-1) was Ramon Cupido, who scored the Indians’ goal at the 54-minute mark. Pinson Valley goalkeeper Ryan Mills also had nine saves.
Fort Payne 1, Citronelle 0: Miguel Robles turned Juan “Chema” Gallegos’ pass into the semifinal match’s only goal at the 24:44 mark in the first half for Fort Payne (22-6-0). The Wildcat defense did the rest, limiting Citronelle (23-4-2) to three shots on goal. Citronelle goalkeeper Scott Barnett turned in a strong effort with nine saves.
The title match is scheduled for 3 p.m.
GIRLS’ CLASS 1A-4A Semifinals
Montgomery Academy 6, Holy Spirit 2: The Lady Eagles (16-2-0) broke open a 3-2 match at halftime with three second-half goals. Garrett Barnes, who had two goals and an assist, got the fifth goal of the match at 42:57 in the second half to seal the win. Cari Budny, Margaret Chambers, Sarah Truelove and Caroline Lester also got goals for MA.
Holy Spirit(12-3-2) scored twice in the first half on kicks from Jordan Richmond.
Randolph 3, Guntersville 2 (4-2 in shootout): Defending 1A-4A state champion Randolph (18-4-3) advanced with a hard-fought win over Guntersville (17-2-0). The two teams scored a goal in each half to send the match into overtime. After two scoreless extra periods, Randolph made four of its five shots on goal in the shootout and the Wildcats made two.
Goalkeeper Daria Zarzeka had seven saves for Randolph. Lauren Lowe and Abby Harper scored goals in regulation. Scoring for Guntersville were Anna Wright and Anna Mikel Jones.
The championship match is set for 10 a.m.
boys' CLASS 1A-4A Semifinals
Randolph 4, Oneonta 0: Michael Holmes scored one goal and assisted on another to lead Randolph (14-6-2). Chase Sanford, Oliver Minton and Fisher Lucas scored the other three goals.
Indian Springs 4, Montgomery Academy 0: Indian Springs (23-2-0) took a 3-0 lead into intermission as Rakim Ali, Jeffrey Simonetti and Reeves Duggan each scored a goal. Duggan added the final goal at the 64:22 mark with an assist from Anthony Pack. Goalkeeper Ramsey Rossman of Indian Springs and Montgomery Academy keeper Jay Back each had two saves.
The title match is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.