
Photo by Kyle Parmley
Mountain Brook High School boys soccer represented at the preseason media day event at Hewitt-Trussville High School on Jan. 22, 2025.
Mountain Brook High School’s boys soccer team enters the 2025 season with high expectations after a strong 21-5-1 campaign that saw the Spartans advance to the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs.
The Spartans made an appearance at the annual high school soccer media day event, hosted by Hewitt-Trussville on Jan. 22, to talk about the upcoming spring.
Ranked No. 2 in the 6A preseason coaches' poll, the Spartans return 13 lettermen but must replace their top two goal scorers from last season. Head coach Joe Webb acknowledged the challenge of generating offense but remains confident in the team’s depth and adaptability.
"It’s hit me, where are our goals going to come from?" Webb said. "We have talent and ability, but not too many who have put it in the net…We’re working on it, and we think things will look a little different than in the past.
Senior center back Jude Smith, a four-year letterman and key contributor to Mountain Brook’s 2022 state championship team, will anchor the defense and provide leadership. He emphasized the importance of finding players to step up in the attack, particularly after last year's team leaned on a veteran group.
"We had a huge group of seniors last year, and I’m excited to see who will step up and fill in for those goals," Smith said. "There’s a lot of talent in the midfield.”
Fellow senior Will Woodke, a leader in the midfield, believes the chemistry among returning players will be key, particularly as younger players take on bigger roles.
"We’ve got some young guys, including three freshmen, and it’s promising," Woodke said.
Woodke also said the team chemistry is already there since a lot of the guys have played together in club, and that makes a big difference on the field.
Mountain Brook will face its usual slate of tough opponents, with Area 10 matchups with Huffman and Woodlawn, along with a challenging non-area schedule that features several top teams from across the state.
The Spartans open their season on Feb. 6 with a road match at Fultondale before hosting Altamont on Feb. 10. They’ll also compete in the Wiregrass Cup in late February, taking on Dothan, Enterprise, and Montgomery Academy. Other key matchups include clashes with Briarwood (March 11), Hewitt-Trussville (April 10) and a late-season road game at Oxford (April 15).
Webb knows the road ahead won’t be easy but is confident in his team’s ability to adjust and improve throughout the season.
"If we want to get past the second round, we’ll have to do some things differently," he said. "We’re playing the usual suspects, and we’ll need to adapt to be successful. But this group has the potential to do something special."
Mountain Brook’s girls were not able to attend the media day event, but the Lady Spartans are looking to follow up their state championship season last spring. Mountain Brook posted a 15-3-4 mark last year, defeating Briarwood 2-0 in the state final.
The Lady Spartans also compete in area with Huffman and Woodlawn, in addition to key matches against the likes of Hoover, Bob Jones, Homewood, Chelsea, Briarwood, Spain Park, Oak Mountain and Hewitt-Trussville.