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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

FOLEY – The Thompson Warriors got close to a perfect start to the season with two wins and a draw during their beach trip to Foley for the Southern Shootout.

Thompson earned two wins and a draw in the Girls Premier division as the team tied the Spanish Fort Toros before defeating the Trinity Presbyterian Wildcats and Guntersville Wildcats during the tournament, which took place from Feb. 6-8 at the Foley Sports Complex.

The Warriors faced a stiff test right out of the gate on Thursday, Feb. 6 in the form of Spanish Fort, which made it to the third round of the Class 6A playoffs in the 2024 season where it lost to the powerhouse Montgomery Academy.

Thompson went toe-to-toe with the Toros throughout the match, and in the end, not much could separate the two high-powered sides. The Warriors finished the match in a 1-1 draw against Spanish Fort to start out their season with a result.

In the end, that draw proved to be decisive in the Girls Premier division standings. The Toros finished level with Thompson in second place with seven points, but their +15-goal differential surpassed the Warriors’ total of +12.

Thompson took the momentum from that result into Friday, Feb. 7 when it matched up with Trinity in the second match of the tournament.

Both sides of the ball had an even better performance in a matchup with the Class 4A Wildcats. The Warriors shut out Trinity during the match to secure a clean sheet, giving the offense plenty of chances to take advantage.

Thompson’s attack erupted for nine goals to secure the 9-0 victory and head into the final day of the tournament with an unbeaten mark.

Then, the Warriors matched up with a reigning Class 5A semifinalist in Guntersville to finish out the tournament on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Thompson’s defense continued its stellar form in the battle against the No. 6 team in Class 5A and allowed no goals for the second-straight match.

From there, the Warriors scored three goals throughout the match and walked away with a 3-0 victory to clinch third place in the Girls Premier division.

Dia Montiel-Duenas finished the tournament as Thompson’s top scorer with four goals, and she added three assists to her total as well. Charli Gantt secured three goals over the course of the weekend while Nathalie Gonzalez joined her fellow attackers in the scoring column with her first two goals of the year while also earning two assists.

In addition, Helen Adan earned four assists in the Southern Shootout to lead the Warriors in that category through three matches.

Thompson will take its 2-0-1 record into its home opener against the Chelsea Hornets on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. at Warrior Stadium.