MBHS boys soccer team has strong season

The Mountain Brook High School boys soccer team put together a strong 2021 season, finishing the campaign with 20 wins and an appearance in the Class 6A semifinals.

The Spartans spent the final few weeks of the season ranked as the No. 2 team in 6A by the coaches and remained in that spot in the final rankings of the season.

Mountain Brook could have gone further, if not for top-ranked and eventual state champion Homewood. The two local juggernauts met in the quarterfinals and played a game for the ages.

After a scoreless 80 minutes of regulation, the teams played two scoreless overtime periods, sending the game to a penalty shootout. In the shootout, Homewood prevailed 5-3 and advanced. The Patriots went on to win the 6A state championship.

Without knowing it at the time, Mountain Brook played another state champion early on in the season in a game that would define much of the Spartans’ direction. The Spartans fell to Spain Park 2-0 on Feb. 9, prompting a minor tactical tweak from coach Joe Webb. The loss was nothing to be ashamed of, as Spain Park carried its strong play throughout the season and won the 7A title for the first time in program history.

But after the Spain Park loss, Mountain Brook got on a roll, winning 13 consecutive games. Of those 13 games, the Spartans kept a clean sheet in eight of them and surrendered just one goal in the other five.

Mountain Brook’s only other losses throughout the year came to Homewood, twice in regular season area play and once more in the playoffs.

The Spartans have just four seniors, with Patrick Neil, Louis Brown, Jack Cole and John Henley playing their final seasons at Mountain Brook. Neil is a left wing and striker who was named to the AHSAA North-South All-Star Team last year, despite the game not being played in the summer due to COVID-19.

“There’s always only been three or four in my class that played soccer at the high school,” Neil said. “The juniors and sophomores this year are doing very well. It’s kind of evened out despite how many seniors we have.”