Oak Mtn. soccer receiving national attention
Published 12:08 pm Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Eagle Nation is trying to make its name across the U.S. this spring, as the Oak Mountain Eagles boys’ soccer team is the only Alabama team listed in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 spring poll.
The recently released preseason poll ranks Oak Mountain (9-1-0) No. 15 in the nation.
This is the first national poll this season to rank Oak Mountain. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) has yet to release its first poll for the spring, which usually comes out the last week of March or first week of April. Polls are divided into fall, winter and spring because different states schedule the sport for different times of the year.
Oak Mountain has been ranked nationally in recent years, starting the 2008 season at No. 8 in the NSCAA/adidas rankings and finishing the year at No. 1. In 2007, Oak Mountain finished at No. 15 after winning its second state title.
The Eagles are 94-17-7 since the start of the 2005 season and have won three of the last four Class 6A state championships.
Most recently, Oak Mountain evened its record in Class 6A, Section 5 play March 3 with a 5-0 win at Vestavia Hills.
Mason Lavallet and Stefan Vaziri each scored two goals in the win, including a penalty kick by Vaziri, while Chris McEwen had the fifth goal. Donnie Maciel, Chandler Hoffman, Thomas Holloway and Vaziri each had an assist.
In net, Trey Anderson (9-1-0) recorded his third shutout of the season for Oak Mountain, collecting three saves.
In other boys’ soccer games March 3:
-PELHAM 10, PAUL BRYANT 0: Pelham blew past section opponent Paul Bryant Tuesday with the help of four goals from Paul Arceo and five assists from Kevin Rose. Austin Pierce had two saves for Pelham (5-5, 3-0).
-CHELSEA 2, THOMPSON 1: Thompson took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Chelsea scored an own goal to put the Warriors ahead. Jonathan Antonietti and Daniel Decker turned up the offense in the second half with a goal each to keep Chelsea unbeaten (3-0-1). Alex Levinson had eight saves for Chelsea, while Javie Valencia had five for Thompson (2-2-0).
-BRIARWOOD 1, ALTAMONT 1: Altamont’s Warner Hornsby tied the match, 1-1, in the second half on an assist from Kyle Rayburn. Briarwood scored first on a first-half goal from Chip Elmer. Wilson Whorton controlled the net for the Lions (5-2-1), collecting 10 saves.
-INDIAN SPRINGS 3, HOLY SPIRIT 0: A hat-trick for Taylor Hogan and two assists from Colin Simon lifted Indian Springs (9-2-1) over Holy Spirit in a Class 1A-4A Top 10 battle.