The Vestavia Hills boys soccer team is 15-0 and #1 in Alabama just past the midpoint of their 2013 regular season.
They jumped from #22 to fifth in the Elite Soccer Report national spring prep poll.
Being undefeated and nationally ranked is nothing new for the Rebels. But a hard lesson learned by past teams, is no matter the record or the ranking, the goal is to win the state soccer championship.
To do that, they have to win the last game of postseason play.
In the past it has been a loss to rival Oak Mountain that has dashed dreams of finishing #1.
This season, the Rebels and Eagles have already played twice. The first, a 0-0 draw on Feb. 16, in the championship game of the Lakeshore Shootout was settled by a penalty kick shootout. Vestavia Hills won 5-4.
The second came on March 2 with a 5-1 victory by the Rebels. Taylor Strange had a hat trick in that one, and Nate Dauphin added the other two goals.
Those are the only two losses Oak Mountain has suffered this year in going 8-2-0 through the middle of March.
Oak Mountain is ranked #2 in Alabama 6-A on Eurosportscoreboard .com, right behind Vestavia Hills.
But two games does not a season make. There will likely be another meeting this year between the Rebels and the Eagles. This time a one-and-done in the state playoffs.
If history holds true, it will be another close game involving an unbeaten record and dreams of state and national championships.
Huntsville tops the girls 6-A state rankings with an 11-1-0 record, followed by Grissom and Oak Mountain, each with one loss. Huntsville’s loss was a 2-0 decision to Brookwood on March 1.