The Patriots beat Montgomery Academy 1-0 to claim Homewood’s second straight Class 6A crown.By Rubin E. Grant
At the beginning of the 2023 high school soccer season, the Homewood girls had their doubts about whether they could successfully defend their Class 6A championship.
“We didn’t think we could do it,” senior forward Mary Siena McBride said. “We had graduated several seniors from last year and we were struggling learning how to play together.”
After a few early season losses, the Patriots began to jell.
“Halfway through the season, we changed our lineup and everything just started to click,” McBride said.
The Patriots were still clicking last Saturday. McBride sailed a pass to teammate Suzanna Busbee at the 76:45 mark, and Busbee netted it to break a scoreless tie, lifting the Patriots to a 1-0 victory against Montgomery Academy to claim Homewood’s second straight Class 6A crown in the 2023 AHSAA State Soccer Championships at John Hunt Soccer Park in Huntsville.
“I just saw an open space in front of the goal and Suz was right there to fight for it,” McBride said. “I knew that was our best chance heading toward extra time.”
Busbee and Montgomery Academy goalkeeper Norah DeSautels battled for the ball off the pass. Busbee gained control and kicked it into the unattended net for the game-winner.
Homewood (23-5-1) earned its third state title, all since 2019.
“This is one team that improved tremendously as the season went on,” said Homewood coach Sean McBride, who is also Mary Siena’s dad. “The middle of the season we tweaked a few things and the girls started clicking and believing in each other. They took practice seriously and every game they were prepared. It’s great that we were able to win it.”
Mary Siena McBride played a key role on Homewood’s defense that limited Montgomery Academy (17-4-1) to only five shots overall and two shots on goal. Homewood junior goalkeeper Kayla Warren saved both to notch the shutout.
The Patriots defeated Randolph 6-1 in the semifinals as Mary Siena McBride and senior forward Maddie Massie both scored two goals. Freshman Ryanne Ezekiel and sophomore Sara Elliot scored the other two goals. Warren had six saves.
Mary Siena McBride was named the Class 6A MVP.
“Repeating as state champions was awesome,” she said. “I didn’t think I would get MVP because there are so many good players on our team. To get MVP, playing for my dad and being on the team with Annie (McBride, her younger sister) makes it one of the best days of my life, if not the best day.”
Montgomery Academy advanced to the final with a 2-1 overtime victory over Briarwood, winning on penalty kicks, 4-2.
The Eagles and Lions played to a 1-all tie in regulation. Taylor Leib staked Briarwood (17-4-1) to a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute, and Montgomery Academy’s Kerstin Daniel answered about seven minutes later on an assist from Mary Elizabeth Cole.
The game remained scoreless through regulation and two five-minute overtime periods, sending it to a penalty kick shootout tied 1-1.
The Homewood boys lost 3-2 in the semifinals to Fort Payne.
Last Saturday, the Cavaliers routed Gulf Shores 8-1 to win the Class 5A boys crown.John Carroll Earns Record 11th State Title
John Carroll Catholic won its first AHSAA state boys’ soccer title in 1994 in just the fourth year of soccer being a championship sport.
Last Saturday, the Cavaliers routed Gulf Shores 8-1 to win the Class 5A boys crown. The state title was the record 11th for the John Carroll (20-7-3), but the first since 2012.
Senior forward Gabe Restrepo scored two goals and assisted on three others to earn the Class 5A MVP award. He scored both goals in a three-minute span in the second half to put the match out of reach.
Jacob McMahon scored the Cavs’ first goal at 8:42 of the first half on a pass from Retrepo. Yosseph Awad, Yeri Maldonado and Miguel Ortis scored the other three John Carroll goals. The Cavs finished with 22 shots on goal.
Talon Galvan managed a goal for Gulf Shores (23-7-0), which was making its first trip to the Final Four.
John Carroll advanced with a 4-0 victory against Guntersville in the semifinals. Junior Charles Farr scored two goals, and seniors Jacob McMahon and Retrepo had one goal each.
Gulf Shores defeated Elmore County 5-0 in the semifinals.
The Knights defeated St. James 3-0 in the championship match. It completed a playoff run that saw Westminster outscore its opponents 17-0.Westminster-Oak Mountain Claims 1A/3A title
Westminster-Oak Mountain girls’ soccer team just kept putting up zeroes as it won the Class 1A/3A state title.
The Knights (17-5-0) defeated St. James 3-0 in the championship match. It completed a playoff run that saw Westminster record four shutouts, while outscoring its opponents 17-0 during that stretch.
In the final, freshman forward Vale Richie scored the Knight’s first goal just 34 seconds into the match on an assist from Jenny Grant.
The Knights followed up a minute later with their second goal, this time by L.C. Smith on an assist from Emily White. Richie, who earned Class 1A/3A MVP honors, scored her second goal at the 56:25 mark.
Westminster sophomore goalkeeper Lailie Parvin blocked all four shots on goal by the Trojans (15-2-2).
Westminster shut out Susan Moore 4-0 in the semifinals, scoring three quick goals en route to the victory.
Jenny Grant nailed the first goal on a penalty kick just 1:44 into the contest. Emily White added the second goal eight minutes later, and A.K. Black took a feed from Ella Davenport and scored from the top left corner of the net 70 seconds later, and Westminster (16-5-0) never looked back. L.C. Smith scored the final Westminster goal at the 75:17 mark.
Saint James defeated Cottage Hill Christian 2-1 in its semifinal game.
The state title was the second for the Westminster girls. The Knights also won the 1A/3A title in 2019.
The Westminster boys lost 2-1 to Tanner in the semifinals last Friday.
The Oak Mountain boys and girls both lost in the Class 7A semifinals on Thursday. The boys fell 1-0 to Huntsville and the girls fell 1-0 to Sparkman.
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