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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – As the full-time whistle blew at Oak Mountain High School on Thursday, April 17, the Oak Mountain Eagles ran to embrace one another knowing that they would live to fight another day.

The Eagles came into their matchup against the Hoover Buccaneers needing to win to keep their playoff chances alive, and that meant beating a team that dominated them 4-0 in the reverse fixture last month.

However, Oak Mountain rose to the challenge, using a Marley Brown corner kick goal in the 32nd minute to earn the 1-0 win and take sole possession of second place in Class 7A, Area 6.

The Eagles will now need to win their rescheduled area match against the Hewitt-Trussville Huskies on Monday, April 21 in order to assure themselves of a spot in the Class 7A girls soccer playoffs. A loss would leave a three-way tie for the No. 2 seed and put their fate in the hands of tiebreakers.

The first half-hour saw neither team get one in the back of the net. Oak Mountain defended very well in the counterattack and kept the Bucs out of scoring position, but it overcooked many passes in the offensive buildup to stunt its forward momentum.

That all changed in the 32nd minute when the Eagles turned on the jets for a blistering counterattack. The offense played a ball for Mae Caroline Cherry as she sprinted down the right wing, forcing the Bucs to catch up and clear the ball for a corner.

Madison Dunnaway stepped up to the corner flag and sent the ball into the right side of the box where it hit a friendly head but tricked out to the opposite side. Marley Brown got on the end of the ball and extended to strike it in midair and fire it into the left side of the goal for the 1-0 lead.

Oak Mountain kept the net clear for the rest of the half, even in the face of back-to-back Hoover set pieces in the 38th minute. A dangerous ball in the box off the free kick got cleared ahead of a shot from Destiny Udeh off the corner that went wide.

The Eagles defended the lead from there, flipping the switch to control the pace at the start of the second half. They largely kept the Bucs from getting threatening chances with some strong defending in a physical match on both sides.

Oak Mountain got a solid pair of chances in succession with a low shot from Ava Fields in the 56th minute that was collected by the Bucs keeper, and the hosts followed it up with a threatening ball off a 57th-minute free kick that was similarly handled.

Hoover got its best chance of the half shortly afterwards when it played its right winger for a blistering run. However, the Bucs player cramped up near the end line, killing the play and the chance for a goal.

Oak Mountain slowed down the game over the next few minutes before a series of Hoover breaks ramped up the tempo in a pressure-packed final stretch.

However, the Eagles had the better chances in the end. Ellee Maniscalco fired a shot in the 78th minute that the Hoover keeper saved, and a minute later, Oak Mountain played Lauren Prier on the left wing to spark a run that won a corner kick.

While neither of those resulted in goals, they ultimately kept the ball out of the Bucs possession for extended periods of time and helped the Eagles earn the victory.