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The Oak Mountain Eagles broke the AHSAA record for the longest unbeaten streak on Friday, March 14, defeating the Vestavia Hills Rebels 4-0 at Oak Mountain High School. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY – As the clock continued counting down to kickoff at Oak Mountain High School, the Oak Mountain Eagles knew in the back of their minds that the game they were about to play was not ordinary.

Dating back to the 2024 season, every game the Eagles played had, in one way or another, led up to this moment—an opportunity to break a record and etch their name into history.

Oak Mountain did just that, defeating the Vestavia Hills Rebels 4-0 on Friday, March 14, breaking the record for the state’s longest unbeaten streak, which was set by this same Eagles program in 2015-2017 at 45 games.

“I’m just incredibly proud of the team for the last two years,” said David DiPiazza, head coach of Oak Mountain. “It’s a big honor and going undefeated is not easy. It’s so much pressure these guys have every time they take the field to be perfect. That’s kind of been our goal—to be perfect, because we know if we’re perfect, we’re state champions, and that’s ultimately what we’re trying to do.

Once the game kicked off, neither team spared any energy, moving the ball at a rapid pace and finding opportunities where they could. Vestavia Hills took control in the first five minutes, finding multiple scoring chances. However, none were converted.

Oak Mountain used that as a chance to settle in and make and move, and that it did. In the 16th minute of the game, the Eagles were awarded a corner kick from the right side. After Luke Jovanovich booted the ball into the box, Sam Collins used his height to get his head on it and put it in the goal to give Oak Mountain a 1-0 lead.

From that moment on, the momentum was in the Eagles’ favor, and as a result, they continued to tighten their grip on history.

In the 31st minute, Gabe Capocci got the ball near the top of the box and made his way through traffic, ultimately shooting it on the ground and past the left side of the Rebels’ goalkeeper for a second goal right before the half.

As the two teams went into the break, DiPiazza was happy with the way his team was playing, but wanted to keep things going in the second half and see his team play a complete 80 minutes of soccer.

Right after play resumed, that’s exactly what happened. In the 42nd minute, Nate Taylor used his speed to break away and get a shot off inside the box. The shot was saved, but was sent out to the left side and found Collins, who once again struck the ball in from close range and extended the score to 3-0.

Oak Mountain never took its foot off the gas following that goal, continuing to play outstanding defense whenever Vestavia Hills tried to break away.

With time continuing to tick down towards the final buzzer, the Eagles saw another opportunity to score, and racing into the box in the 70th minute, Taylor gave a feed to Capocci right in front of the net, who scored right then put the dagger in the game with a 4-0 score.

As the buzzer later sounded, Oak Mountain felt excited about what they had just accomplished. For DiPiazza though, this record was all about determination.

“It’s just perseverance and a testament to the character of the players we have in the program,” DiPiazza said. “I don’t think there’s a person out here that felt any pressure to do anything, and that’s kind of what makes this team exceptional. It stresses me out, but it’s not something we ever really talked about until they announced it at the (Leeds) game last week. It’s a testament to the character of these guys, to be on top for that long and to try to maintain that standard of excellence.”

With their two goals each, Collins and Capocci have now scored 16 and 13 times, respectively. Capocci has already surpassed last year’s total of 11 goals, which Collins is on track to soon pass his previous total of 18.

The road does not get any easier however, as the 16-0 Eagles now prepare to take on the also undefeated Hoover Buccaneers on the road in a meeting of No. 1 and No. 2. That game is set for Tuesday, March 18, and kick off will be at 7 p.m. at Hoover High School.

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