Thompson wins first girls soccer playoff game since 2013 in shootout against Oak Mountain
Published 3:22 pm Wednesday, April 30, 2025
The Thompson Warriors broke through on the playoff stage with their first postseason win since 2013 in a thrilling shootout win against Oak Mountain that went down to the wire. (For the Reporter/Markee Canada)
By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
ALABASTER – As Charli Gantt stepped to the penalty spot with the chance to defeat the Oak Mountain Eagles in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs, Thompson Warriors coach Dan DeMasters paced the sideline and sent up a prayer.
It was a moment that he had been praying about for close to a decade, and the moment that he left Oak Mountain to help Thompson accomplish–its first playoff win since 2013, back when the Warriors were in Class 6A and before DeMasters joined the program.
Gantt approached the spot, chose left and buried the shot past a diving Eagles keeper to win the shootout 4-2 following a scoreless draw after overtime on Tuesday, April 29 at Warrior Stadium.
It is a day that will live on in Thompson lore, and it is one that a stunned DeMasters wanted to soak up every bit of.
“It’s been a long time coming,” DeMasters said. “I mean, year seven, and it being Oak Mountain, where I left to come here to try to take Thompson to the same place and be champions, it’s good. It’s a breakthrough for us.”
For Megan Townsend-Maynor, the Warriors’ 5-foot-3 junior goalkeeper who kept a top-five offense scoreless before making the save in the third round of the shootout that was the difference between the teams, the win was the culmination of years of hard work.
“I’ve been here since my freshman year, and every year we’ve had this hump to get into playoffs and to just get in the playoffs means so much for me,” Townsend-Maynor said. “And to be a part of the first team to do this in such a long time and to even make it to the second round, I’m just so proud of them. They’re my family.”
The defenses dominated the opening half of play as both the Eagles and Warriors excelled at marking attackers and clearing chances before they had a chance to hit the target.
A key early example of that was Luna Montiel-Duenas’ third-minute run at the goal for Thompson that Oak Mountain’s Marley Brown cleared for a Warriors corner.
Thompson then cleared a dangerous Oak Mountain cross in the 10th minute to showcase its own defensive skill.
There were a handful of key offensive moments, namely Dia Montiel-Duenas’ effort in the 14th minute. She received a cross created by a right-wing run, and she sent in a shot that went just over the net.
Oak Mountain then got a counterattack chance in the 16th minute that forced Thompson’s keeper to charge the ball. However, the Eagles saw an opportunity and chipped the ball over the keeper to try and get an easy goal.
Guilia Wekesa charged in to meet it, sprinting to clear the ball for a corner before it rolled over the goal line.
That was one of multiple critical moments for Wekesa in the match, including another clearance in the 24th minute for a corner. Meryt Hartsock nearly came up with a goal off a header, but her shot went over the crossbar.
Both teams held firm throughout the entire 40 minutes, sending the playoff tie to the half in a scoreless draw as the pressure to break through built up.
Thompson tried to find the opener in the 42nd minute with a deep cross to the far post, but it went so far that it banged off the post after almost going in.
The woodwork would not be the Warriors’ friend during the next few minutes as Luna Montiel-Duenas’ 47th-minute shot off a corner hit the crossbar and Mia Morgan’s header in the 54th minute struck the football crossbar.
After neither team could break through over the next few minutes, the tension built to a fever pitch in the final 10 minutes and an up-and-down style of play from both sides.
Kennedy Miller’s left-side run in the 74th minute ended with a shot that hit the side netting, and the Warriors missed on a right-wing cross a minute later that sailed over the goal.
Then, Madison Dunnaway was called into action to dispatch a Thompson breakaway in the 77th minute.
Oak Mountain got a last-second free kick chance but sent it right of the goal to send the teams to overtime.
Neither team got much time to build up many chances in the five-minute periods, but the Montiel-Duenas sisters did give the Warriors a pair of better chances. Dia’s near-post shot on the end line in the first overtime was saved, and Luna sent a shot wide of the goal in the 89th minute.
Two of the Eagles’ better efforts came off free kicks, but Ellee Maniscalco’s was cleared by Townsend-Maynor near the end of the first overtime, and the Thompson keeper caught a rushed free kick as time expired to force a shootout.
Both Dia Montiel-Duenas for the Warriors and Brown for Oak Mountain opted to go for the bottom left corner in their first penalty kicks, and both converted to leave it tied at 1-1.
Guilia Wekesa chose the right side for her second shot and put some elevation on it to easily get past the keeper. Isabelle Cherry did the same but on the opposite side to knot it at 2-2.
Nathalie Gonzalez placed a low shot in the right corner to put Thompson up 3-2, and that brought the Eagles back to the spot. They went left again but couldn’t get the ball to go all the way to the edge of the goal, instead falling in Townsend-Maynor’s diving grasp for the save.
With Oak Mountain now trailing 3-2 and needing a stop, Madeleine Reilly got just that. The Warriors opted for dead center, and she stayed put while pushing the ball over her head and over the goal for the save.
However, a crossbar shot on the Eagles’ ensuing penalty kick left Thompson up 3-2 and gave the hosts a chance to close it out with a make.
Gantt then delivered the game-winner with a left-side shot that sent her teammates to swarm her and started the lengthy celebrations for the 4-2 shootout victory and historic playoff win.
After the game, DeMasters said he was proud of his defense for surviving Oak Mountain’s offense. Even though the Eagles were without star attacking midfielder Kati Anne Shepherd, Thompson only played with three defenders in its formation, which put them at a disadvantage to the counterattack.
However, the Warriors held strong throughout the 90 minutes to secure a clean sheet, and DeMasters took pride in their hard work.
“To play a three-back and for them to stay as composed as they were, just really proud,” DeMasters said. “They gritted it out, and Oak Mountain, they got in and behind us every once in a while, and a little scary, but they held strong and (I’m) proud of them.
The result was more than just a win for Thompson as it was the culmination of 12 years of hard work to return to the playoff stage. DeMasters hopes that those who came before this team can take pride in what they accomplished.
“This is for all the Warriors that have come before,” DeMasters said. “I’ve talked to a lot of alumni, so this was a special moment. Just not for those 21 girls that we have here, but for all the ones that graduated before, we hope we made them proud.”
However, now that they have achieved one goal, it’s on to the next one–reaching the Final Four. They can accomplish that with a win on Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m., but it will be their biggest challenge of the season when they face the No. 1 Vestavia Hills Rebels on the road.
For now though, it’s about resting in the achievement before turning around and getting back to work in pursuit of a state title.
“I think it’s more of like a relief thing,” DeMasters said. “It’s like winning a championship. You put all the hard work in and all that, but, yeah, it was just a relief thing. It’s just, you got over the hump, and now it’s just on to the next.”
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