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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CALERA – The Calera Eagles are back atop Class 6A, Area 5, but this time, both the boys and the girls soccer teams reign supreme and will head to the playoffs as champions.

Calera defeated the Benjamin Russell Wildcats 4-2 in the girls game before a 5-0 victory in the boys match on Friday, April 11 at the Eagle Sports Complex.

While the boys secured their third-straight area championship to host another home playoff game, the girls returned to the mountaintop after securing runner-up honors in 2024, making this their second area championship in three seasons.

As a result, both teams are heading back to the playoffs for the third-straight season and will have the opportunity to host their first-round games together at Calera High School.

The girls faced off against their biggest test in area play in Ben Russell, a team that took them to penalty kicks in the reverse fixture in Alexander City. Calera won that shootout on Feb. 28 by a score of 3-2, setting up a high-profile matchup for the area championship.

The Wildcats came flying out of the gate, scoring not just the opening goal, but a second goal before the break to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.

That score line not only jeopardized the Eagles’ perfect area record, but their area title chances as well as a two-goal win for Benjamin Russell would give it the championship on head-to-head goal differential.

However, Calera made multiple adjustments at the break while coach Austin Ford rallied the troops for an inspired second-half performance.

After a hot start to the half, Brianna Collier put the Eagles on the board by scoring early in the second half to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Her sister Reece Collier then followed it up with a goal of her own, tying up the game at 2-2 while putting more pressure on the Wildcats.

With the momentum building in its favor, Calera got a big chance to take the lead off a free kick. Jackie Martinez stepped up to the ball and delivered a stellar goal to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.

Reece Collier then finished off the job with her second goal of the night, the Eagles’ fourth unanswered goal as they walked away with the 4-2 win and the area championship.

The boys also rolled on offense but paired that with a complete performance on the defensive end to secure a clean sheet, setting the stage for the attack to capitalize.

Matthew Doerfler helped Calera open up the scoring as he sent a ball to Edson Gonzalez who put it away for the opening goal.

From there, Alex Garcia doubled up the lead before the halftime break thanks to an assist from Sam Njoroge, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.

After his assist to end the half, Njoroge powered the second-half offense by playing a role in each of the final three goals.

He scored the first goal of the half unassisted to put Calera up 3-0, and then he assisted on the next goal, a strike from Armando Perez, to make it a four-goal lead.

Njoroge then put the nail in the coffin with a second unassisted goal down the stretch, giving him two goals and two assists on the night and sealing the 5-0 win for the Eagles.

With the win, the boys are now 12-5-1 overall and 4-0 in area play while the girls are 10-4-1 overall and 4-0 in the area.

The Calera boys will return to action on Tuesday, April 15 at 5:30 p.m. at the Eagle Sports Complex for a tough test against the 7A No. 6 Thompson Warriors.

From there, both teams will play together on Wednesday, April 16 against the Shelby County Wildcats in a special game at Ricky Cairns Stadium. The girls will kick off at 5:30 p.m. and the boys are slated for a 7:15 p.m. start.

Calera’s home first-round playoff games will take place between April 24 and 26 at Calera High School, with the state’s default day being Saturday, April 26.