Photo by Erin Nelson.
Homewood vs Oak Mountain Boys Soccer
Oak Mountain’s Andres Sanchez (21) and Homewood’s Hardy Smith (14) battle for possession of the ball during a Feb. 20 match at the Homewood Athletic Complex.
Editor's Note: As of press time, high school sports have been postponed indefinitely due to the new coronavirus.
Oak Mountain High School’s boys soccer team might be a younger team this season, but that’s not going to stop the Eagles from attacking and attempting to make a run in Class 7A.
This version of the Eagles is facing a tough schedule if their season gets to continue. The Eagles are currently 4-4-3 on the season with pivotal area games to come. Finding a way to win the area games will decide their postseason fate.
Junior outside back Wilson Rhodes said although the 7A teams they play are normally bigger, that doesn’t faze the Eagles.
“We’re playing a lot bigger than our size,” he said. “Most teams are bigger than us as a whole, but that hasn’t been a big factor in most games.”
Head coach David Di Piazza said his team wants to be fast and attack the offensive end every chance it gets.
“I definitely say we are one of the most attacking oriented teams I’ve had,” he said. “We try to be a very attacking oriented [team]. The more we attack, hopefully, the less we have to defend. That’s kind of our mindset.”
The attacking attitude of this year’s Oak Mountain team has it on the path to a hopeful deep playoff run, but Di Piazza wants to wait before talking about the playoffs. He is more worried about the area opponents upcoming for the Eagles.
“My thought has not been one bit about how far we will make it in a playoff run,” he said. “I think for anybody who coaches 7A soccer, it’s getting into the playoffs and winning the area games are most important on my mind. Great teams don’t make it to the playoffs some years. It’s never easy.”
Oak Mountain will have tough area competition with the first and second-ranked teams in the state to decide who will make the playoffs. These wins will be paramount in the Eagles making a run at the state title.
This year, they will have to rely on some new faces, along with some returning ones, to help them reach their goal. Di Piazza said the Eagles will rely on many underclassmen, including an eighth-grader, to put in vital minutes for the team. Di Piazza said his senior leaders have been fantastic so far in the season.
One of them is captain Ryan Webb. He said he is confident in the team and also named some early contributors that have helped win some games.
“Wilson Rhodes is playing one of his best seasons for the team, Corbitt Grundy is stepping up and playing a completely new position and doing it well, Haruki Hoshino is a huge part of our midfield game and when he’s on our whole team is on,” he said. “The team as a whole has some tweaks to be made, but overall I feel confident in this team.”
Di Piazza said this team is a closeknit group, and they are up to the challenge for the 2020 season.
“They’ve been doing anything I could ask them to do,” he said. “I’m really excited about this group.”
