Oak Mountain outlasts Grissom in second half to reach state title game
Published 2:53 pm Thursday, May 8, 2025
Oak Mountain’s set-piece dominance lifted it to a Final Four win over Grissom after a second-half Tigers goal gave the Eagles a big test ahead of reaching the state title game. (Reporter Photos/Alec Etheredge)
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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE – It wasn’t the prettiest of the 59 wins that the Oak Mountain Eagles have earned since their last loss, but they got over the line and back to their second-straight state championship game.
Oak Mountain defeated the No. 6 Grissom Tigers 2-1 on Thursday, May 8 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville after surviving a second-half onslaught from the local side to extend the unbeaten streak to 60 games.
It was an onslaught that Oak Mountain coach David DiPiazza blamed mainly on his side’s drop in quality down the stretch and one he vowed to not let repeat on Saturday.
“We’ve just got to play 80 minutes,” DiPiazza said. “Proud of the guys. I’m proud of the resilience.”
Oak Mountain got its offense going with a rolling free kick from Sam Collins in the second minute. Much of the early run of play was evenly fought as Grissom frequently made its way forward into the attacking third.
However, the Eagles defense held strong and allowed just one shot in the first half before the tide firmly shifted in their favor.
Gabe Capocci missed a pair of shots in the 14th and 15th minute as the momentum continued to build for Oak Mountain. Despite the run of chances from open play though, the breakthrough came from a set piece after a tackle on top of the 18-yard box.
Sam Collins stepped up to take the kick in the 20th minute, and just like he did on Monday against Prattville, he fired the ball home for the direct free kick goal. This time though, instead of opting for the top shelf, he threaded a low roller through the wall and past the keeper for the 1-0 lead.
Collins got another chance off a direct free kick three minutes later that forced a diving save from Grissom’s keeper.
Oak Mountain tried multiple chances over the next 15 minutes but came up empty each time. A Gabe Capocci end line cross in the 25th minute to Nathan Wright was deflected for a corner kick and Luke Jovanovich’s cross on the corner just missed Collins and Capocci.
From there, Capocci got a header off in the 31st minute that forced another diving save from Jackson Bishop. The Grissom keeper ended the match with six saves on eight shots on goal.
In the 36th minute, Collins was tackled on a run into the box, and the referee called a penalty kick on the play. Roy Soldevilla stepped up to the spot and buried the effort with a clinical finish to double the lead to 2-0.
That advantage held through halftime, but Oak Mountain’s inability to finish from open play would go on to hurt it down the stretch.
A couple of missed crosses into the box in the opening 10 minutes of the half preceded a 50th-minute Collins header that the Tigers kicked away.
Then, Grissom got another save off a free kick in the 54th minute and quickly shifted the tide of the entire match. The Tigers got the ball upfield quickly for a breaking Nate Spellman who won a one-on-one battle with Owen Wells before depositing the ball into the empty net.
That halved the deficit to 2-1 and was only the start of the Tigers’ pressure down the stretch.
After Wright had a close-range shot saved in the 56th minute, Grissom started getting more possessions in its attacking half. The Tigers got just one shot off in the first half but earned three in the second half to keep the Eagles on their heels.
Despite that, Oak Mountain still had the majority of the chances in the final 10 minutes. Capocci got back-to-back shot attempts off in the 71st minute before a Taylor Hunter header was saved two minutes later. An Eagles goal off a corner kick was also waved off due to what the assistant referee called a shove of the keeper.
The final minutes got very heated on both sides. Grissom challenged a one-on-one with Collins in the 76th minute, and after a hand-check from Collins, the defender slid to play the ball but got Collins afterwards. The referee opted to not give a free kick, and the Oak Mountain bench earned a yellow card for its disagreement.
Wells then landed on a dangerous corner kick in the 77th minute before the Eagles got more time in the attacking third. Soldevilla also earned a yellow with less than 10 seconds left for a dangerous challenge near the Oak Mountain students along the fence.
Nevertheless, the Eagles kept the Tigers at bay and walked away with the 2-1 win.
Despite Oak Mountain winning the shots battle 14-4, including 8-1 in the first half, DiPiazza rued the missed chances after the game and wished his players put away more of those chances to slam the door shut instead of leaving Grissom in the game.
“I think we could have played better in the second half,” DiPiazza said. “I think we had a good first half. We came out strong. I think we created a lot of chances. I don’t think we were clinical enough in the box in the first half, and then we give up a goal in the second half and momentum kind of swung their direction.”
With that test behind them, Oak Mountain will now face off against the Montgomery Academy Eagles on Saturday, May 10 at 9 a.m. at John Hunt Park in Huntsville. MA survived a similarly tight battle and defeated Fairhope 3-2 on penalty kicks just minutes after Oak Mountain’s full-time whistle.
DiPiazza said his players know the task ahead of them and is confident that they will show up ready to play for a second-straight state title to finish off an undefeated season and possibly a MaxPreps national championship.
“We’ve got 16 seniors that know it’s their last game and what they’re playing for, a state championship and potentially a national championship, so the guys will be ready,” DiPiazza said.
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