Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Taylor Leib entered her senior season with the Briarwood Christian Lions as one of the most decorated and accomplished players in program history. The Clemson signee already earned two-straight Shelby County Golden Boots, Super All-State, 6A All-State, All-Metro and All-County First Team honors and won Metro Player of the Year and North-South MVP in 2024.

For all of her individual success though, one thing was missing–a team trophy.

The Lions got better each season that Leib played, first making the Final Four in 2023 and then the state championship match in 2024. Both times though, she and Briarwood were met with heartbreak as they fell just short of a state title.

With the program’s longtime playmakers and future stars converging perfectly, the Lions were determined to win a state championship. To do that though, Leib would need to play like the goal scoring star that she always has been.

Leib stepped up to the challenge, reaching a new level of offensive playmaking to lift Briarwood to a historic tenth state championship in program history and first in her career. Her performances on the road to that elusive team trophy also helped her win one of the last individual honors she had yet to earn–Shelby County Player of the Year.

As she had throughout her career, Leib frequently fired off dangerous chances when the ball hit her feet. Good things typically happened when she had possession in the attacking third, and that simple strategy paid dividends whether she made her first touch in the eight-yard box or from outside the 18.

In fact, some of her biggest goals came outside the penalty box as just like in years past, her near-limitless range generated some firecrackers, including some key goals in area play.

Leib didn’t secure her third-straight Shelby County Golden Boot, which went to Indian Springs’ Ashna Mehra with 45 goals in Class 5A, but the Briarwood attacker still finished with an average of 1.81 goals per appearance as she scored 40 goals in 22 matches.

What’s more, all but three of them came from open play, further demonstrating her ability to generate chances in the run of play. Her 40 goals were the second-highest figure in the county behind only Mehra.

Many of those goals came in big moments throughout the season, including a hat trick in the first round against Helena, a brace against Northridge in the quarterfinals and another hat trick in a Final Four win over Spanish Fort.

She also came up clutch with penalty kick goals in the Lions’ two shootout wins of the playoffs against Spain Park in the second round and the decisive victory over Mountain Brook in the title game.

That victory was big for more than just the trophy it delivered for Briarwood. It was also a revenge win for the Lions over a Spartans side that stifled them in the 2024 state championship.

Leib wasn’t alone in providing goals or offense for the Lions in their run to the title. She racked up 12 assists on the season while finding her longtime running mate Brooklyn Barnett and sophomore rising star Taylor Matthews among other offensive pieces.

As a result of her dominance, Leib repeated as the Metro Player of the Year for Birmingham and secured the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year for girls soccer, the state’s highest honor.

Leib was also far from the lone player deserving of the award. Spain Park’s Reese Oldfield looked like the most dominant attacker in the state with her blistering speed and playmaking ability throughout the regular season. Thompson’s Dia Montiel-Duenas and Springs’ Mehra made the most of their frequent goal-scoring opportunities and Oak Mountain’s Marley Brown was one of the toughest defenders in the state.

However, Leib’s consistent dominance as the best player on the best team in the county gave her the edge to cap off her high school career with the county’s highest honor.