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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

TUSCALOOSA – The Calera Eagles needed to work hard in the back half of the match to do it, but they are heading to the quarterfinals of the Class 6A boys soccer playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons.

Calera defeated the Northridge Jaguars 2-0 on Tuesday, April 29 at Northridge High School to punch its ticket to the final eight, avenging last year’s second-round defeat in the process.

The Eagles and the Jags engaged in a tight battle throughout the opening half. Both teams held strong in the back line and kept their opponents out of the back of the net.

As a result, they went to the halftime break tied at 0-0 and in search of a breakthrough.

That moment came right at the hour mark of the match when Northridge committed a foul inside the box, resulting in a penalty kick for Calera.

Sam Njoroge stepped up to the spot to take the penalty for the Eagles, and he buried the effort to put his team up 1-0 on the road with 20 minutes remaining.

That goal provided a shot in the arm for Calera and paved the way for the second goal, this time from open play.

In the 72nd minute, the Eagles offense found Matthew Doerfler, and he fired a shot into the back of the net to double up Calera’s lead to 2-0.

That goal put the nail in the coffin as the Eagles defense held on for the final eight minutes to secure the clean sheet and reach the next round.

Calera will now hit the road for an all-Shelby County showdown against the Chelsea Hornets on Saturday, May 3 at 7 p.m. at Chelsea High School in search of their first quarterfinal win in school history.

The Eagles previously made the quarterfinals in 2023 but automatically advanced to the Final Four after McAdory self-reported an ineligible player.

The Calera girls soccer team also played Northridge before the boys took the field, but they fell 2-1 in a close contest with the No. 6 team in Class 6A.

The Eagles did score during the match as the offense came up big on a Reece Collier corner kick. She sent the ball in for Sarah Hubbard who headed the ball back to Brianna Collier for the tap-in goal that got the visitors on the scoreboard.

However, it wasn’t enough as Calera conceded two goals on the road to end their season at Northridge for the second-straight year.

Nonetheless, the Eagles still had a successful year under first-year head coach Austin Ford, securing the Class 6A, Area 5 championship with a perfect 4-0 record and breezing past Brookwood in the first round. Calera finishes out the season with a 12-6-1 record and will look to next year to continue its upward trajectory.