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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – In a battle of the top two teams in MaxPreps’ national rankings for boys spring soccer, the Oak Mountain Eagles quickly and emphatically proved why they are on another level.

Oak Mountain extended its state-record unbeaten streak to 47 matches with a 4-1 win over the No. 2 Hoover Bucs on the road at Hoover High School on Tuesday, March 18.

The win takes the Eagles to 3-0 in area play as they hit the halfway mark in their journey through Class 7A, Area 6 and 17-0 overall in 2025.

Oak Mountain wasted little time taking the fight to Hoover as Roy Soldevilla scored the opening goal before the 10-minute mark even hit to go up 1-0.

Soldevilla doubled up his tally shortly after. He made his way in from the right wing off a cutting run and slotted a ground ball past the diving keeper for the 2-0 advantage.

The Bucs tried to get on the scoreboard but were largely restricted to set pieces in the first 40 minutes. The most threatening look came in the 22nd minute when they won a deep free kick off an Eagles yellow card and Alexander Chaidez-Cruz was forced to land on an errant ball near the left post.

However, Oak Mountain kept going to work on the offensive end and broke through the pressure on the wings to add to its lead.

Gabe Capocci got on the board in the 29th minute as he ran to the top of the box and fired a roller for his team’s third goal.

Capocci didn’t have to wait long to score again. Two minutes later, Sam Collins made a short run up the end line and fired a tight-angle shot into the Hoover keeper’s gloves.

However, that wasn’t the end of the story.

The ball trickled out behind the keeper and straight into the feet of the nearby Capocci. He rifled a shot into the top shelf of the open goal to put Oak Mountain up 4-0 in the 31st minute.

That score line held through the halftime break as the Eagles went into the huddle with a commanding four-goal advantage.

The tone changed in the second half as the Bucs tightened up their defense even more and started playing a more end-to-end style with quick counterattacks off long passes.

Hoover would then get a goal back in the 46th minute to trim the deficit to 4-1.

Oak Mountain had some strong chances the rest of the way by putting shots on target. The visitors also had a pair of chances outright denied as a penalty shout in the 68th minute did not lead to a spot kick and a 78th-minute header from Collins was ruled offside.

Despite facing challenges on the offensive end, the Eagles buckled down and didn’t let the Bucs take any additional ground as they saw out the three-goal victory.

Oak Mountain’s girls couldn’t repeat the feat as they fell 4-0 to the No. 5 Bucs in another top-five clash just before the boys game. Two goals in a span of two minutes put Hoover up 2-0 in the 20th minute, and the Bucs went on to score twice more to lead 3-0 at the half and 4-0 at full time.

The girls dropped to 12-2-2 with both of their losses coming in area play. Now, Oak Mountain is in a crucial spot where it needs a win on Friday, March 23 against Hewitt-Trussville to keep pace in the area standings.

That match will kick off at 7 p.m. that night at Oak Mountain High School following the boys’ match against the Huskies at 5 p.m.