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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

FOLEY – The Spain Park Jaguars left no prisoners and put the entire state on notice that they would remain a threat in the state championship discussion even with a move to Class 6A and multiple graduated players from last year’s 21-1 squad.

Spain Park finished the Southern Shootout 3-0 to claim the Girls Showcase I division against a tough field of three of the top seven teams in Class 7A. The Jags defeated the McGill-Toolen Catholic Yellow Jackets, Dothan Wolves and Auburn High School Tigers without allowing a single goal from Feb. 6-8 at the Foley Sports Complex to secure the title.

Spain Park started its run at the Southern Shootout with a matchup on Thursday, Feb. 6 against a Class 7A semifinalist from a season ago, the No. 4-ranked Yellow Jackets of McGill-Toolen.

The Jags kicked off the tournament strong on both sides of the ball, shutting out the Jackets in the first half while scoring twice to take a 2-0 lead into the halftime locker room.

Spain Park kept its foot on the gas until the very end and doubled up its advantage in the remaining minutes of the match. The Jags finished out the clean sheet and took a 4-0 win to open up the season on a dominant note.

Reese Oldfield led Spain Park in scoring with two goals while Addy Soehn and Libby Gray opened up their scoring accounts with a goal apiece. Soehn also secured an assist to go with her goal, joining Morgan Anthony as Jags to earn assists in the victory.

The Jags then returned to the sports complex the next day to face off against Dothan, the No. 7-ranked team in the Class 7A preseason coaches poll.

Spain Park’s offense pressed the advantage created by its lockdown defense and put three goals past the Wolves in the opening half. That gave the Jags a 3-0 lead at the halftime break that they would only build off of in the remaining minutes of the match.

Spain Park scored its fourth goal before the end of the match and held on for a second-straight shutout on the defensive end to put the finishing touches on a 4-0 victory.

Oldfield secured a brace for the second-straight match as she finished with two goals and an assist as well. Tori Flournoy came up with a goal and an assist during the win, and Gray scored a goal once again.

That set up a tantalizing matchup for first place in the Girls Showcase I division as the No. 1 team in Class 7A at the end of the 2024 regular season, the Jags, faced the defending Class 7A state champions, the No. 1 Auburn High School Tigers.

Spain Park got the early edge on Auburn thanks to scoring the opening goal of the match. From there, the Jags held off the Tigers offense for the rest of the half to take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.

That set up Spain Park to have an even more dominant second half where it took the fight to the top girls soccer team in all of Alabama. The Jags scored twice more before the full-time whistle blew and secured their third-straight clean sheet in the 3-0 win over Auburn.

Oldfield scored for the third-straight match, and she was joined on the scoresheet by Soehn and Anthony. Just like the McGill-Toolen match, Soehn earned an assist while Gray finished out the weekend with an assist as well.

Spain Park will take its 3-0 record into another matchup with a Class 7A side as it faces the Huntsville Panthers on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. at Huntsville High School.

Elsewhere in the Girls Showcase I division, the Jags’ area foe Briarwood Christian finished 1-2 to take fifth place. The Lions opened the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Auburn High on Friday, Feb. 7 before splitting a Saturday doubleheader.

Briarwood came out on the right side of a 2-1 scoreline in a win over McGill-Toolen before falling to Dothan a few hours later, also by a score of 2-1.