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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – Over the last two seasons combined, Robert Starr’s Spain Park Jaguars have failed to win just three times. On Tuesday, April 1, they righted one of those wrongs and secured a historical milestone in the process.

Spain Park’s 3-2 win over Oak Mountain on the road at Oak Mountain High School was the 400th win in Robert Starr’s high school soccer coaching career.

Starr has coached with the Jags since 2001 and has led them to five state championships during his tenure. He has also helped Spain Park achieve the No. 1 ranking in the MaxPreps spring girls soccer national rankings in each of the last two seasons while amassing a 32-2-1 record.

However, one of those two losses was in their last meeting with Oak Mountain as the Eagles secured a 3-0 win on Saturday, Feb. 22 in a 70-minute Lakeshore Shootout contest.

The Jags got off on the right foot in the match thanks to Josie Gray. She scored an unassisted goal in the 23rd minute to put Spain Park up 1-0.

However, the Eagles flipped the momentum on its head and equalized mere minutes later.

Isabelle Cherry found the back of the net in the 27th minute to tie the teams up at 1-1. That proved to be the final goal of the half as the teams went into the break level on goals with the pressure building.

The Jags took the game by the horns in the opening minutes of the half as Reese Oldfield used her speed and shooting prowess to put the visitors in front.

Just two minutes into the second half, Priscilla Thornton sent a ball Oldfield’s way, and the junior forward took care of the rest to give Spain Park the 2-1 lead in the 42nd minute.

Eleven minutes later, Oldfield struck again, this time after receiving a pass from Alex Langan as she secured her brace and put the Jags in front 3-1 after 53 minutes of play.

That lead came under threat in the closing minutes of the match though. After scoring a goal in the first half, Cherry repeated the feat in the second half to make it a one-goal game in the 63rd minute.

However, Spain Park continued getting the better chances on offense and used a 15-7 shots advantage to keep the Eagles at bay for the final 17 minutes of the match and see out the victory.

The Jags will look to continue their seven-match unbeaten run when they host cross-town rival Hoover on Thursday, April 3. The two teams met in the Lakeshore Shootout on Saturday, Feb. 22 in a 1-0 win for Spain Park, but this will be their lone 80-minute match of the season.

Oak Mountain dropped to 13-3-2 with the loss and will look to keep its playoff hopes alive in a crucial road trip to Vestavia Hills on Friday, April 4 at 4 p.m.