AHSAA SOCCER: River Region teams shut out in state finals

MA’s Bae Corley battles Homewood’s Mary Siena McBride for possession in the Class 6A girls soccer championship in Huntsville. (Marvin Gentry/AHSAA)

COMBINED REPORTS

HUNTSVILLE -- Both the Montgomery Academy boys’ and girls’ soccer teams battled for the 6A state championship on Saturday and both came up one goal short in the finals at John Hunt Park.

The boys, making only their second trip to the state finals, lost 4-3 to Fort Payne, while the girls, making their 10th trip to the finals in the past 13 years, lost 1-0 to Homewood. 

Despite the losses, both teams will be elevated to Class 7A by Competitive Balance Factor when the new classification is released in 2024, regardless of what they do next season. 

Homewood’s Mary Siena McBride sailed a pass to teammate Suzanna Busbee at the 76:45 mark of the 6A finals to break a scoreless tie as the Patriots posted a 1-0 win to claim the school’s second straight state crown and third in the last four state tournaments. 

McBride, who earned most valuable player honors, was a key to the defense of Homewood (23-5-1). Montgomery Academy managed only five shots overall and two shots on goal against the Patriots defense. The Eagles allowed only 15 shots and eight on goal in a sterling defensive effort as well. Goalkeeper Nora DeSautels had six saves for the Eagles. 

Montgomery Academy (17-4-1) was chasing its 10th state championship on Saturday, but first in Class 6A, after winning four titles in 1A-4A, three in 1A-3A and two in 4A-5A. The Eagles will have one more opportunity in 6A in 2024 before moving up to 7A for the 2025 season. 

The Montgomery Academy boys took a lead three times in Saturday’s championship match with Fort Payne before most valuable player Cristian Barrientos scored his third goal of the game at the 58:19 mark for a 4-3 victory over the Eagles. 

Montgomery Academy took a quick 1-0 lead on a Win Berry goal eight minutes into the match, but Barrientos tied it up seven minutes later with an assist from Chris Rocha Luna. 

Montgomery Academy went back in front a minute later on a free kick by Brewer Welch, only to see Barrientos answer six minutes later with another Rocha Luna assist.

Lucas Rizzo countered with a free kick late in the first half for a 3-2 halftime lead before Barrientos assisted a Rafael Robles goal seven minutes into the second half. 

The state title was the third overall for Fort Payne (26-2-2), which won state titles in 2011 and 2015.

Montgomery Academy (21-3-1) was making its fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament but only its second trip to the finals. The 2004 team also lost by one goal in a 1-0 defeat by Trinity. 

Westminster-Oak Mountain tops St. James for girls 1A-3A title

The Westminster-Oak Mountain Knights (17-5-0) closed out the 2023 season with a 3-0 victory over St. James in the Class 1A-3A state finals over the weekend at John Hunt Park.
Freshman forward Vale Richie opened the match with a goal in the first 34 seconds of the match.
The Knights followed up a minute later with their second goal from L.C. Smith.
Goalkeeper Lallie Parvin blocked all four shots on goal by the Trojans (15-2-2).
The state title was the second for Westminster-Oak Mountain. The Knights also won the 1A-3A title in 2019.