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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Nate Joiner (7) celebrates a goal with his teammates in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Chelsea at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Nate Joiner (7) and Chelsea’s Grant Saether (14) move toward the ball in a Class 7A quarterfinal game at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
The Eagles celebrate after defeating Chelsea 3-1 in a Class 7A quarterfinal game at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Aidan Riley (2) scores on a penalty kick in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Chelsea at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
The Eagles celebrate with the Oak Mountain student section after defeating Chelsea 3-1 in a Class 7A quarterfinal game at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Om Shrestha (10) dribbles the ball guarded by Chelsea’s Brandon Cruz (7) in a Class 7A quarterfinal game at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Alexander Chaidez (0) blocks a shot at the goal in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Chelsea at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Chelsea at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Chelsea at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Chelsea’s Brock Marlow (1) blocks a shot at the goal in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Oak Mountain at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
The Hornets celebrate a goal by Max Wever (9) in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Oak Mountain at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Nate Joiner (7) passes the ball guarded by Chelsea’s Alejandro Hernandez (15) in a Class 7A quarterfinal game at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Nate Joiner (7) scores for the Eagles in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Chelsea at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
The Eagles celebrate a goal by Nate Joiner in a Class 7A quarterfinal game against Chelsea at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Harrison Kilgore (12) dribbles the ball downfield guarded by Chelsea’s Alejandro Hernandez (15) in a Class 7A quarterfinal game at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Oak Mountain’s Om Shrestha (10) guards Chelsea’s Max Wever (9) as Wever takes the ball to the goal in the first half of a Class 7A quarterfinal game at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Chelsea’s Harper Jones (22) dribbles the ball guarded by Oak Mountain’s Adrian Guiterrez (5) in a Class 7A quarterfinal game at Oak Mountain High School on Friday, May 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
In a clash of Alabama’s premier programs, the Oak Mountain High School boys soccer team defeated Chelsea 3-1 in Friday night’s Class 7A quarterfinal playoff game. Nate Joiner scored two goals, Aidan Riley added one more, and the Eagles punched a ticket to their third consecutive state final four.
Oak Mountain entered the game sporting a record of 26-0-1, while Chelsea came into the night with a similarly impressive mark of 20-3-1. The Eagles were second in the MaxPreps national soccer rankings, while the Hornets placed in the top 25. Oak Mountain won both of the teams’ regular season meetings.
“I'm not being disrespectful to anybody else, but it's the [two best] teams in the state. It’s a shame that we're having to play each other [in the quarterfinals],” Oak Mountain head coach David Di Piazza said. “Any troubles, any struggles, anything that we didn't do well, it wasn't because we played poorly, it's just because we played a tremendously talented team that's really well-coached.”
In front of an energetic crowd that included fans of both squads, the Eagles seemed to land the first blow, scoring a goal off a corner kick in the game’s opening minutes. It would be called back, but Oak Mountain was undeterred. They continued to pressure the Hornets and forced Chelsea goalkeeper Brock Marlow to make a diving save with 30 minutes left in the half.
The Eagles would manufacture several more shots on goal, but Marlow and Chelsea defender Brandon Cruz, who made a goal-saving tackle in the penalty box, briefly kept Oak Mountain at bay. The Eagles finally broke through 12 minutes before halftime when senior forward Nate Joiner headed in a Luke Jovanovich corner to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
It would remain that way until Chelsea’s Max Wever scored an equalizer with just 30 seconds left in the first period, sending the visiting section into a frenzy.
Despite Oak Mountain’s substantial lead in shots on goal, the Eagles weren’t able to enter the locker room with an advantage. Di Piazza credited the Hornets’ defensive intensity with keeping the game close.
“Chelsea came out and played tremendously,” he said. “We had [a] possession [advantage], but they put a lot of pressure on us. We needed to just be composed and have a sense of urgency.”
Frustrated by Chelsea’s 3-5-2 formation, Oak Mountain made a strategic adjustment that Di Piazza thinks led to their second-half breakthrough.
“Really just taking control of the midfield was the big thing we needed to do. We changed the way we played in the second half, and I think that let us get back into the game,” he said. “We've had some injuries where we didn't have a lot of depth with our front two, so I just didn't think we could continue at the pace we were playing.”
That breakthrough didn’t come immediately, but Joiner scored his second goal of the game with ten minutes left in regulation and gave the Eagles a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Five minutes later, senior forward Aidan Riley rifled home a penalty kick to make the score 3-1 in favor of Oak Mountain.
Oak Mountain will travel to Huntsville’s John Hunt Park next week, where the Eagles will play Huntsville in the 7A semifinals. Huntsville knocked off Oak Mountain in the semis last year, and the Eagles are looking for their first state championship since 2017.
Di Piazza trusts his seniors to keep the team focused and prepared for the rematch.
“This group is incredibly focused. This is our third straight year in the finals. The core of this team played in the state championship game two years ago, and they're hungry,” he said. “[We’re emphasizing] just staying focused and having a good week of practice leading up to next week. If you practice well, you'll feel confident about going into games.”
Briarwood's girls soccer team also defeated Northridge 2-0 on Friday in the Class 6A quarterfinals. The Lions will face Montgomery Academy in the semifinals in Huntsville next Thursday.
