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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Shelby County Wildcats girls soccer team is back in the win column for the first time since March 23, 2023, and even more than that, it is off to a 2-0 start to the season thanks to a historic achievement.

Shelby County secured its first area win in program history with a 4-0 win over the Sipsey Valley Bears on Thursday, Feb. 13 at Sipsey Valley High School.

The Wildcats’ win came after they overcame the elements to take a 3-1 battle with the Tarrant Wildcats on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at home at Papa McCombs Stadium in their season opener, which snapped an 18-match losing streak.

In the game against Sipsey Valley, Daphne Santos got the scoring going for Shelby County in the 13th minute with her first goal of the season off an assist from Kaelyn Cardenas to put the visitors up 1-0.

She secured her brace just four minutes later with her second goal of the half to increase the lead to 2-0 and increase the pressure on the Bears.

Isabella Grubbs finished off the scoring for the half thanks to another Cardenas assist, giving Cardenas two assists for the first half and the Wildcats a 3-0 halftime lead.

Shelby County’s scoring pace slowed down in the second half with the lead comfortably in its hand, but Cardenas didn’t let the full-time whistle blow without getting on the scoreboard herself. She scored off a Diana Dominguez assist in the 78th minute to seal the 4-0 win.

The victory came on the heels of a momentum-generating win over Tarrant, which was the same team that the Wildcats had beat for their last win nearly two years ago.

Due to rain throughout the day on Tuesday, both Shelby County and Tarrant agreed to play 30-minute halves instead of the usual 40 minutes. With less time to find the back of the net, Shelby County still managed to take the lead and hold it until the final whistle for an elusive win.

Taking the field for the first time in 2025 and the first time under new head coach Matt Martindale, Shelby County scored its first goal of the year 28 minutes into the contest.

With just two minutes remaining until the halftime break, Dominguez served up a chance for Cardenas, who finished to put the hosts on the scoreboard before the interval.

Shelby County continued to control the game after the break and doubled up its goal total seven minutes into the second half. Grubbs scored thanks to a Daphne Santos assist to score their team’s second goal of the match.

While the hosts gave up a goal during the match, Ember Garcia capped off the scoring with a 51st-minute goal off a Cardenas assist as Shelby County put the finishing touches on a 3-1 win.

Now, the Wildcats will take their 2-0 record into a tough area test against perennial powerhouse Indian Springs on Friday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. at Papa McCombs Stadium.