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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

As we turn the calendar over to February, Shelby County’s top boys soccer programs are ramping up their preparation ahead of the start of the season on Thursday, Feb. 6.

Soccer is historically one of the area’s stronger sports, and that is expected to be the case yet again as seven of the 12 county teams are ranked in the top 10 of their classifications in Eurosport Scorbord’s preseason boys soccer coaches poll.

From returning titans like Oak Mountain, Pelham, Briarwood, Chelsea and Westminster OM to regular playoff contenders like Calera, Indian Springs, Montevallo and Spain Park to programs on the rise like Thompson, Helena and Shelby County, this season promises to be a memorable one as teams strive to reach the Final Four in Huntsville come May.

Let’s take a look at the biggest storylines surrounding each team with the season rapidly approaching.

 

Oak Mountain: Can the Eagles survive the target on their back?

2024 Record: 29-0-1 (6-0 Class 7A, Area 6), area champions, state champions

Preseason Ranking: No. 1 (7A)

To be quite honest, there aren’t many question marks surrounding Oak Mountain this year. The Eagles were one of the best teams in the country last year with an undefeated record and return seven of those 11 starters. While they lost the last two Shelby County Players of the Year in Om Shrestha and Aidan Riley along with their top scorer in Nate Joiner, Oak Mountain has plenty of players ready to step up and fill the gap as so many have during the program’s storied history of success.

That storied history and recent success once again makes the Eagles the hunted in Class 7A rather than the hunters. To coach David DiPiazza though, that’s the “burden and benefit of being who (they) are.”

While the biggest fear of any sustained success is complacency, the coaches have seen none of that so far. That’s because the core group of seven starters and 16 seniors, including Super All-State stars Luke Jovanovich, Gabe Capocci, All-State striker Sam Collins and veteran staples Roy Soldevilla, Harrison Kilgore and Alexander Chaidez, played for the state title as freshman and won it as juniors, meaning they know the standard that they have to achieve and the work they need to put in at training to achieve it.

Expect another free-flowing Oak Mountain team that is motivated to get better throughout the year while bringing the younger players up to that elite standard. And if the Eagles can build off last year’s dominant foundation, their own record of 45-straight unbeaten matches from 2015-17 may be broken before long.

Thompson: Can the Warriors break through into the postseason?

2024 Record: 11-10-1 (2-4 Class 7A, Area 5)

Preseason Ranking: N/A

It’s year two of the Alex Levinson era at Thompson, and the former Chelsea star is continuing to build the foundation for the future in Alabaster. With record turnouts year-after-year for tryouts, the Warriors have assembled a deep and skilled squad that is ready to make some noise.

That talent will be needed to accomplish something they’ve done just once in the past decade: make the postseason. The Warriors have a new-look area with Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, Prattville and Tuscaloosa County that should provide a better opportunity to reach the playoffs, but Levinson and the players made it clear they are focused on themselves and the details in their game more than any opponent.

While Thompson graduated a big class of seniors and only returns six starters, that small group of returners are dedicated to laying a positive foundation and playing the right way. Players like Eric Huerta and Dylan Ruiz have endured a coaching carousel of multiple different systems, and now that they have consistency, expect them to build on their skills and help the team grow as well.

The Warriors will lean on a deep midfield of as many as eight impactful players within that position group as well as two strong goal keepers to stop shots. With that depth, Thompson hopes to set a new standard of success for the program and challenge the best in Class 7A. 

Briarwood Christian: Who will start in goal?

2024 Record: 14-8-1 (5-1 Class 6A, Area 8), area runners-up, reached second round

Preseason Ranking: No. 5 (6A)

The Briarwood Christian Lions have a bitter taste in their mouth from exiting the postseason in the second round against a team that they beat in area play in Pelham.

Now, they have 12 seniors back and only lost two seniors from that team, meaning coach Mike Bautista’s team is tight-knit and motivated to do more. That experience base has helped Briarwood build off last season instead of starting over along with a bond built through years of playing together.

Look for returning players like midfielder Sawyer Felton and defender Cameron Harrington to set the standard for some of the younger players this season. They know what it takes to be All-County players individually and go deep in the playoffs as a team, and they should pair well with an emerging attacker like Quinn Corcoran and returning defensive starter Hampton Smith.

Besides how they will fair against another gauntlet of an area containing four top 10 teams, including themselves, their biggest question has to be at goalkeeper. Emerson Maughan was one of the team’s bright spots last season with crucial saves that led to 11 clean sheets and an All-Metro spot. The Lions will look to senior Brody Garrett and a junior and former field player in Gavin Patterson to fill his spot.

If they shore up their presence in the net and continue the course through a long season, it’s hard to bet against Briarwood making another deep run.

Calera: Will the Eagles keep building off their success?

2024 Record: 11-9-1 (3-1 Class 6A, Area 5), area champions, reached second round

Preseason Ranking: N/A

Under Landon Gaskins, the Calera Eagles have been a force to be reckoned with in Class 6A. After making the 2023 Final Four and 2024 Sweet 16 in his first two seasons in charge, it’s now time for the upperclassmen to build off their experience in hopes of a third-straight area title.

As Gaskins has grown as a young coach, so too have players like Armando Molina-Perez, Landon Morrow, Matthew Doerfler and Andrei Cuenca-Daniel in their on and off-field roles through their years of playing together dating back to middle school. Now as seniors, they will be called upon in even bigger ways as the leaders of the team to teach the younger players how to handle adversity.

The Eagles have an absolute gauntlet of a schedule on hand, including matchups against Spain Park, Indian Springs, Mountain Brook and Thompson, but with returning contributors like Doerfler, who had 12 goals and 11 assists in 2024, Calera has the experience to take on those challenges. The only question for Gaskins is if the team can buy in, and he has plenty of that so far.

Chelsea: Can the newcomers continue last year’s success?

2024 Record: 20-4-1 (4-2 Class 7A, Area 6), area runners-up, reached quarterfinals

Preseason Ranking: No. 4 (6A)

The Chelsea Hornets had a historic campaign in 2024, entering the playoffs as the second-best team in the state, and of their four losses, three were to undefeated Oak Mountain. It was another watershed moment in a wave of momentum that coach Lee Miller said his team has been riding since a crucial 4-0 win over Hewitt-Trussville in 2022 where they’ve grown into a more aggressive style tactically and mentally.

However, some of the key pieces in that formation like midfielder Kaleb Bass, keeper Brock Marlow and forward Javi Rivera-Miranda are now graduated, and it’s up to the current upperclassmen to pick up the mantle for the on-field production and off-field leadership the Class of 2024 left behind.

Players like senior midfielder Harper Jones and junior defender Luke Miller are eager to take on that challenge and not only are poised to take on some of their tactical roles but also their leadership roles in showing the younger players how to act.

As for the front line, the Hornets return a 26-goal scorer in Max Wever, a breakout candidate on the wing in junior Parker Dean and a sophomore in Daniel Teixeira who got starting minutes at wing last year but will now move into his natural attacking-midfielder role.

The area hasn’t gotten any easier for Chelsea with Briarwood, Pelham and Spain Park on deck and the team still has to work in a new goalkeeper and some injuries to overcome, namely to Luke Miller, but the Hornets are well-equipped to build off last year’s success and make noise in Class 6A.

Helena: Can the Huskies offense start clicking?

2024 Record: 9-10-4 (1-5 Class 6A, Area 8)

Preseason Ranking: N/A

The Helena Huskies started what they hope to be a successful rebuild last year under first-year coach Kelly Koch. However, some of their struggles came from facing one of the most challenging areas in the state in Briarwood, Indian Springs and Pelham. With reclassification, the Huskies will face Bessemer City, Hueytown and McAdory, and they’re looking forward to the opportunities to grow against teams that are closer to where they are right now.

Since Koch came on, she has helped the team work through their chemistry issues and helping their mental fitness reach their physical fitness and skill level. That will be aided by nine seniors and a solid group of juniors returning and should lead to more discipline on the field.

One of their biggest questions from a personnel standpoint is who will fill the back line as Ryan Borden will lead a very inexperienced group of defenders, but the coaching staff hopes they will adjust well as well as whoever wins the goalkeeper job between Anibal Sommerville and Isaiah Montano.

However, the biggest focus for the Huskies will be how to score more goals. With a veteran midfield and most of the same strikers, their task is to now put that newfound chemistry to work in the attack and find the back of the net, something that Helena struggled to do last season with a more defensive-minded approach. Pressing the attack should also help the newer defenders develop more into their new roles.

Led by experienced players like Austin Lewis, Devon Sasser and Conrad Yost among their nine seniors, expect the Huskies to take the next step this year and challenge for a spot in the playoffs.

Pelham: Can the Panthers maintain a hunger throughout the year?

2024 Record: 19-6-3 (5-2 Class 6A, Area 8), area champions, reached quarterfinals

Preseason Ranking: No. 3 (6A)

Make no mistake about it, the Pelham Panthers are extremely motivated coming into 2025 after a quarterfinal exit on their home pitch last year. Veteran coach Patrick McDonald remarked at media day about how dedicated and committed this year’s squad is to getting better as many of those players have that heartbreak in the back of their mind and don’t want it to happen again.

The goal now is to keep that first-day feeling going across the entire three-month season, something that’s easier said than done when Chelsea and Spain Park replace Helena and Indian Springs in Area 8, Briarwood is out for revenge and the rest of a typically grueling schedule is on deck.

The Panthers will look to take on those challenges with a veteran attack led by All-County players like Elder Esquival and Jair Camargo as well as senior striker Alex Perez. All three of them will take big steps this year, but that’s not the extent of their senior experience. Salvador Jimenez and Jake Garner will anchor the backline as seniors, and while they lost Raul Jacobo to graduation, they have two seniors behind him battling for his job in veteran Kevin Tena-Aguirre and a previous club-only player in Jeffery Palacios, who just signed with the University of Montevallo.

Those starters are only backed up by a skilled bench as the team says depth will be one of their strengths this year. With that level of confidence in the entire team sheet and the initial motivation to work, it seems the Panthers will go as far as they want to as long as they get past the area.

Spain Park: Can the Jags translate their progress into results?

2024 Record: 4-15-1 (1-5 Class 7A, Area 6)

Preseason Ranking: No. 7 (6A)

The Spain Park Jaguars are heading down to Class 6A to face a new set of challenges after a very challenging year in Class 7A. While coach Matt Hall’s team won just four matches in 2024, this is still a program that is just two seasons removed from a Class 7A state championship in 2022.

As a result, this year’s class of 13 seniors have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Veterans like Josh Tulloss, Hudson Alexander and Cole Russell are ready to take lessons from both the positive and negative results and lead this team forward.

The players have been enthusiastically putting in the work over the offseason and focusing on the little things that they can control instead of the bigger matches like they did at times last season. Hall believes the key is responding to the negative plays to avoid them snowballing into negative results in the win-loss column.

The one thing that is for sure is that the Jags players are ready to prove the doubters wrong, but with a No. 7 ranking entering the season, they may not have much to prove.

Spain Park has six starters back from last year’s team, including All-County honorees Bobby Propper and George Everly. Now, it’s all about transferring that offseason work onto the field and going from “a solid team that played better teams” as Hall says to a great team that beats other great teams consistently.

Indian Springs: Can Springs recapture their Class 5A success?

2024 Record: 11-9-2 (2-4 Class 6A, Area 8)

Preseason Ranking: No. 6 (5A)

The last time Indian Springs was in Class 5A in 2022, they walked away as state champions. Coach Rik Tozzi’s program has been a consistent standard of excellence within Shelby County, and after a couple of years taking on the challenging opponents of Class 6A, they are ready to live up to their historical standard of success and make noise in the playoffs again.

A key part to returning to that standard will be the play of their two captains, midfielders Avery Biga and Erik Ledvina, two of their five seniors this season. Ledvina earned All-State and North-South honors last season after winning over 50 percent of his duels and contributing to 13 goals. Biga was Springs’ top scorer last season with 10 goals and five assists while securing an All-County Third Team spot. If both play to that level this season, that will help spur this team along.

The goal now is to navigate a brand-new area with Montevallo, Northside, Sipsey Valley and Shelby County. It’s one that they should be favored in but also one where anything can happen, especially with Montevallo and Northside’s excellence in Class 4A last season. However, with the vast majority of their schedule comprising of Class 6A and 7A teams, expect Indian Springs to be battle-tested and ready to take on any comers in area play and beyond.

Montevallo: Can the Bulldogs reach new heights in a new classification?

2024 Record: 16-7 (7-1 Class 4A, Area 3), area champions, reached first round

Preseason Ranking: N/A

The Montevallo Bulldogs’ Class 4A finale was not what anyone in the program expected or wanted. After winning a second-consecutive area championship, the Bulldogs took a shock penalty shootout loss at home to Fultondale in the first round, denying them a chance to go back to the quarterfinals.

Now facing a new classification in Class 5A with an even longer path to Huntsville, Montevallo is ready to put the past behind it and capitalize on years of growth under coach Garrett Langer.

The Bulldogs have eight of their 11 defenders back, including their entire midfield with Junior Alvarenga, Christian Diaz and Alexis Lopez, the latter of whom scored 22 goals in 2024. They’ll have a mix of old and new faces to feed the ball to, including one of the top goal scorers in the county in senior Irving Choto, fresh off five hat tricks and a team-high 23 goals last year.

However, those three starters that they are missing are all along the back line. With multiple defenders including All-County star Ben Locks gone, Langer expects depth pieces like senior Jesus Munoz, a former keeper, and fast-rising sophomore Jon Carlo Velasco to anchor down the defense.

Their biggest asset might just be the years that they have played together. The players say that there is a lot of closeness between the returning sophomores, juniors and seniors, and part of that stems from years of varsity experience dating back to middle school, including for players like Arturo Alvarenga who has a lot of experience for a sophomore. With Langer sticking to a 4-3-3 as their base formation, that only helps them build on previous experience and makes the coaching staff’s job even easier with their instinctual knowledge of the game.

There is another benefit to all of that experience: they not only know what it takes to make the playoffs but they are even more motivated to get further with heartbreak in the back of their mind. If they continue to improve throughout the season, they may just achieve that.

Shelby County: Will the Wildcats rally together under a new coach?

2024 Record: 0-14 (0-9 Class 5A, Area 5)

Preseason Ranking: N/A

While the Shelby County Wildcats have struggled to find the win column in their program’s history, they took steps to improve individually and collectively last season even in the face of lopsided results.

Now, they will have to continue that process under a new head coach.

Enter Matt Martindale, Shelby County’s band director who has youth coaching experience but will be coaching an entire team of high schoolers for the first time in his career. While he is still adjusting to the speed of varsity boys soccer, he has tactical knowledge and a core group of returners, including roughly half of the 2024 starting lineup and assistant coach Jessica Garcia.

The Wildcats had a record turnout to tryouts and have the most players in history with 21, and they will be led by one of their two seniors in TJ Minton and junior Remi Martinez in the attack as part of a possession-oriented 4-3-3. Their goal will be to help the younger players develop physically and in their skills in hopes of being more competitive this season.

To Martindale, a big factor in that development into a more competitive team is believing in each other and themselves. If they can reverse that internal doubt that they can be a good team and buy into Martindale’s system, he hopes that it will show on the field and start reversing some of the external doubt as well as Shelby County continues to strive for improvement and success.

Westminster OM: Will playoff experience lead to a return to the mountaintop?

2024 Record: 18-5-4 (10-0 Class 1A-3A, Area 5), area champions, state runner-up

Preseason Ranking: No. 4 (4A)

If you ask coach Cody Baxter, the Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights were a bit ahead of schedule last season. While they didn’t achieve their ultimate goal of a state championship last season, falling short in the Class 1A-3A finals against St. Luke’s Episcopal, the run just fueled their motivation and desire to work harder to get over the hump this year with their first state title since 2018.

The only member of the starting lineup from that title game who is gone is centerback Noah Holmes, meaning 10 of their 11 starters are back and building on the chemistry from last year to have a much more united team.

Westminster’s trio of electrifying goal scorers is back in Charlie Krulak, Luke Likens and Shelby County Golden Boot winner Aiden Gamble. Those upperclassmen have incredible finishing power only aided by a strong midfield in juniors David Bean and Rocco Zaccagni and sophomore rising star Jacob Dover as well as a steady presence in net in Sam Carter.

That continuity will be crucial in a new classification in Class 4A, but the Knights have a traditionally challenging schedule of local powerhouses like Briarwood, Chelsea, Spain Park, Thompson and Oak Mountain to help prepare them for that.

With as strong a group of returners as anyone in the region and a promising new generation learning from them, expect the Knights to use that chip on their shoulder from last season to keep building off their recent success in search of a state title.