Westminster OM outpaced by St. Luke’s as girls finish first 4A season in Final Four
Published 8:32 am Thursday, May 8, 2025
Westminster OM found itself outgunned by St. Luke’s Episcopal in the Class 4A Final Four, but the Knights left Huntsville proud of their effort and accomplishments in a “rebuild” year. (Reporter Photos/Andrew Simonson)
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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE – The last time the Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights took the stage at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, they hoisted the 2023 Class 1A-3A state championship.
While history did not repeat itself in a 7-1 loss to the No. 6 St. Luke’s Episcopal Wildcats on Wednesday, May 7, just making it to the Class 4A Final Four was a significant accomplishment in the Knights’ eyes.
“It wasn’t the ideal season for us this year, but we turned it around,” Westminster coach Joe Randal said. “Ended up in the Final Four, a place we didn’t expect to be, so very proud. We came off of a rebuild year, so being in the Final Four on a rebuild year is insane, so we just want to keep moving forward.”
Westminster started out the game strong with a goal from Helen Harbert. In the 12th minute, she fired a low shot from inside the box to put her team in front 1-0.
St. Luke’s turned up the pressure from there though, forcing Lailie Parvin to come out from the net and make a pair of stops in the 15th and 16th minutes.
The breakthrough from the Wildcats came in the 28th minute when a shot from outside the box went into the back of the net to tie up the game at 1-1.
St. Luke’s came very close to taking the lead off a chance inside the box in the 31st minute, but it scored the go-ahead goal in the 32nd minute after flicking home a corner kick cross.
The Wildcats scored again in the 35th minute after a collision with the Knights keeper Parvin led to an open net for them to tap in the ball.
Parvin continued on, but less than a minute later, St. Luke’s got a breakaway chance. After missing the first touch, the Wildcats sent home the follow-up for the 4-1 lead, which held through halftime.
The tempo quieted down in the first 10 minutes of the second half before another breakaway goal in the 53rd minute made it 5-1 St. Luke’s.
The Wildcats scored again in the 64th and 69th minute to increase the lead to 7-1, and that proved to be the final score as the Knights had limited chances to fire off shots in the second half.
After the game, Randal said that his team played like they were intimidated by St. Luke’s and that many of the things that led to their loss were self-inflicted.
“Hate to be that guy, but I don’t really think St. Luke’s was that tough of a competition,” Randal said. “I think people saw the name and got insecure. Same thing happened to us, honestly, we were prepared for the game, but after the game started, a few calls didn’t go our way, we got rattled and took us out of our game. So, it wasn’t really St. Luke’s. It was more of us than St. Luke’s.”
Nonetheless, Westminster still surpassed its own expectations by reaching the Final Four after winning the area championship and finishing with a 10-10-1 record. Eight of those 11 games that they did not win were against teams from higher classifications.
With what the Knights did in what Randal called a “rebuilding” year, he is excited to see the future as every player but Parvin is set to return next season.
“It was an excellent season,” Randal said. “Everything we did this year is really just building us up to be a better program moving forward. 4A has been a little bit of a test, but it’s not too different from 1A-3A, so we’re excited about our future here. We want to keep making a name for ourselves. Keep battling, keep fighting. Hopefully we’ll be back here next season.”
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