By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

HOOVER – The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the boys’ 7A classification met for the second time in the young soccer season on March 4. The Eagles from Oak Mountain had tied Hoover on Feb. 13 by a final score of 1-1 in the Lakeshore Shootout, but Oak Mountain handled Hoover on March 4, beating the Bucs by a final of 2-0 to stay undefeated and move to 8-0-2.

After a tussle toward the end of the first half that saw Oak Mountain captain and leader Hunter Holstad get tangled up with the Hoover goalie on a loose ball and ended up with the Eagles taking a 1-0 lead into the half, the Eagles never seemed to doubt this was their night to prove their Birmingham-area dominance. The Eagles, who are as familiar with Hoover as anyone else in the state, made sure to keep Hoover at bay in the second half as well, keeping the high-powered Bucs offense to zero goals, which was the first time all season Hoover has been held scoreless.

Levi Layton was taken down in the box midway through the second half, which led to a penalty kick for Oak Mountain. The Eagles looked once again to Holstad to finish the deal, and the senior connected on the penalty kick, keeping his PK record spotless in 2016. The Eagles did not relinquish a single goal the entire night, and beat Hoover 2-0.

The win went a long way to solidifying Oak Mountain’s place at the top of Class 7A. The Eagles’ earlier tie to Hoover gave the Bucs some confidence, but the defending champs took care of business when they needed to in area play, and kept their goal clean in the process. Oak Mountain has given up just seven total goals through 10 games this season, good for an average of less than a goal per game. Oak Mountain will now look toward Brookwood and Helena this week as the Eagles look to stay on top of Class 7A.