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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights are in uncharted territory as they begin their first area campaign since moving up to Class 4A, but both the boys and the girls have proven to be competitive through two matches.

Westminster OM’s boys are 2-0 in area play thanks to a 3-0 win over the American Christian Patriots on the road on Friday, Feb. 28 and a 10-0 victory over the Holt Ironmen on Wednesday, March 5 at Dunnavant Valley Fields.

The girls took a tight 2-1 loss to the Patriots to begin area play but bounced back in their next area match with an 11-0 win over Holt.

The boys have been navigating a tough early slate of the season without some of their top players, including Charlie Krulak, who hasn’t played yet in 2025, and reigning Shelby County Golden Boot holder Aiden Gamble, who was unavailable for the area opener at ACA.

However, Westminster pressed the advantage throughout the match and used their lengthy time of possession to keep the ball away from its own net. As a result, Sam Carter needed to make just one save to secure the clean sheet.

While the Knights got numerous opportunities from open field, it was a set piece which opened up the scoring. Walter Moore sent in a direct free kick from 40 yards out and connected with the goal to put Westminster up 1-0 at the halftime break.

The Knights doubled up their lead about 10 minutes into the second half as junior Rocco Zaccagni found eighth-grader Levi Self for a goal as the visitors took a 2-0 lead.

Zaccagni also helped put the match on ice with about 15 minutes left when he sent a ball to the left side of the box for sophomore Jacob Dover to put it home and seal the 3-0 win.

Westminster took that momentum into a windy night on Wednesday where they took on a Holt side that they easily outmatched.

Gamble returned to the lineup for the Knights and was dominant in the attack, finishing with four goals and two assists as he contributed to six of his team’s 10 goals. David Bean also scored multiple goals as he earned two goals.

Davis Jones, Luke Likens, Zaccagni and Dover each had a goal apiece to finish off the win as Westminster took the victory by mercy rule before the 80-minute mark hit.

As for the girls, they engaged in a close battle with American Christian in a matchup between two of the favorites to reach the playoffs out of the area.

Still navigating life as a very young squad, the Knights got a crucial goal in the first half after eighth-grader Cameron Carter finished off a chance from Vale Richie to leave the teams tied at 1-1 going into halftime.

However, Westminster gave up a goal early in the second half and couldn’t capitalize on its possession advantage the rest of the way. ACA would go on to take the match 2-1.

The Knights would then lose their next game to the reigning Class 6A runner-up Briarwood, but the Holt match the next night provided a great opportunity to bounce back.

Westminster raced ahead to a double-digit lead in the first half as it scored 11 goals against the Ironmen. That triggered the mercy rule at the halftime break as the Knights secured the dominant victory in just 40 minutes.

Richie led the way for Westminster with four goals and an assist while Mackenzie Varden joined her with a hat trick as she had three goals and an assist. Carter finished the game with two assists.

With the wins, the Knights boys improved to 4-3-1 and 2-0 in area play while the girls are 2-4-1 and 1-1 in area play. Both will head south over the weekend to face St. Michael Catholic on Friday, March 7 at 5 and 7 p.m. and Gulf Shores on Saturday, March 8 at 10 a.m. and noon.