Mountain Brook girls soccer team completes tremendous regular season

The Mountain Brook girls soccer team is hoping to finish one game better than a year ago. 

 “It’s a big goal for us to get back to the final four,” Spartans coach Scott Flowers said.

A year ago, the Spartans fell 1-0 to Oak Mountain in the state championship, but with most of the roster from a year ago, expectations remained high coming into this year and so far the team has delivered.

 “It’s obviously different year to year, but we only graduated three girls and it’s a really good senior class, so we definitely had high expectations,” Flowers said. 

As they will tell you, one of the main reasons for sixth-ranked Mountain Brook’s success is what a close-knit bunch they are. 

 “I think the main reason for our team’s success this year is because of the hard work everyone puts in at practice and the team’s camaraderie,” senior captain Leigh Haynes said. 

 “The girls have great attitudes, they work hard, and the energy is there every time we step on the field,” Flowers said.

The team has also been able to avoid the injury bug, another mark of a special season.

 “[There have been] no big injuries, which is fantastic,” Flowers said. “It’s hard to get by a whole season with that.”

The Spartans play in a region that includes Hewitt-Trussville, Vestavia and Spain Park, teams that are all ranked in the top 10 in the state, creating a brutal region that the Spartans knew they had to be ready for from the beginning. 

 “Our area play is so tough that we had to be a good, solid squad by the first week of March,” Flowers said.

The Spartans have lost twice to Hewitt-Trussville this year, by scores of 3-2 and 2-1, but have beaten everyone else in their region. They defeated Vestavia and Spain Park back-to-back by scores of 4-2 and 3-1 in March. 

If it comes down to a rematch of last year, the Spartans have a more recent incentive if they tangle with Oak Mountain again. The Eagles edged Mountain Brook 1-0 with a goal in the 71st minute on April 15. That loss dropped previously-No. 1 Mountain Brook to sixth in the state rankings and put the Eagles on the No. 1 perch.

Class 7A sub-state play was scheduled to begin April 28. The state championships are May 7-8 in Huntsville.