1 of 2
Photos by Sarah Owens.
Briarwood women’s soccer beat Mountain Brook in Class 6A girls soccer state championships on May 10.
2 of 2
Photos by Sarah Owens.
Oak Mountain lost to Montgomery Academy at the 7A boys state soccer championships on May 10.
“Dig deep.”
That was the message Briarwood Christian School girls soccer coach Ryan Leib repeated throughout the second half of the Class 6A state championship game on May 10 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville.
Finally, his team’s efforts came to fruition. Briarwood scored the game-tying goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, and the Lions won a penalty-kick shootout to secure the program’s first state title since 2017.
Briarwood’s 2-1 win looked all but hopeless until the late moments. Taylor Matthews scored in the 79th minute to knot the game at 1-1. After two scoreless overtime periods, the Lions won the penalty-kick shootout 4-1, as Taylor Leib buried her shot to send her team into a frenzied celebration.
“It’s the best feeling you could have,” she said following the game.
In a rematch of last year’s state final, Mountain Brook’s Langston Lilly got her team on the board first, scoring on a set piece in the eighth minute.
Freshman goalkeeper Catherine White was a force from then on, making seven saves in the game and stopping two Mountain Brook shots in the shootout. She was named the State Tournament MVP with her performance.
“A freshman coming up big — I don’t know what to say except that’s amazing. I’m so proud of her,” Taylor Leib said.
It was the final time father and daughter will be on the field as coach and player, Ryan Leib coaching his daughter and Clemson signee Taylor. As fate would have it, her final moment as a Lions player was the game-winning goal.
“You can’t put into words how special it is when your daughter does that and to have that moment together,” Ryan Leib said.
Ryan Leib was also greeted by a water-bottle shower after the game, the perfect conclusion to a cool, damp day.
Photos by Sarah Owens.
Oak Mountain lost to Montgomery Academy at the 7A boys state soccer championships on May 10.
Eagles’ unbeaten streak ends in state final
Eventually, the streak was going to end.
Montgomery Academy scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the game, putting Oak Mountain on its heels quickly.
“Conceding early maybe shocked us a little bit,” Oak Mountain head coach David Di Piazza said following the game. “We had a lot of time, but it’s not common for us to concede twice.”
The Eagles got their lone goal in the 55th minute, as Nate Taylor converted a penalty kick. Oak Mountain had several late chances to equalize but couldn’t convert.
“Montgomery Academy played great. It’s not always about us not doing something great — sometimes the opponent plays well,” Di Piazza said.
This year’s seniors made it to the final four each of the last four years, advanced to three state championship games and won the title last spring.
“What we’ve done statistically is great, but I’m more proud of what these guys have done as human beings. They’ve had a great four years on the field but they’ve grown as men, and they’re incredible student-athletes and great people,” Di Piazza said.
