The Spartans celebrate on the field after defeating Pelham 2-1 in double overtime to win the Class 6A state title at John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Mountain Brook’s Vance Phillips (8) heads the ball to score as the Spartans defeat Pelham 2-1 in double overtime to win the Class 6A state title at John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Spartans celebrate on the field after defeating Pelham 2-1 in double overtime to win the Class 6A state title at John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Spartans celebrate with the Class 6A state championship trophy after defeating Pelham 2-1 in double overtime at John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Mountain Brook head coach Joe Webb brings over the Class 6A state championship trophy to his team after defeating Pelham 2-1 in double overtime at John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Mountain Brook’s Jack Heaps hugs Vance Phillips after Phillips was named MVP in the boys Class 6A state championship game at John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville on Saturday, May 14, 2022. The Spartans defeated Pelham 2-1 in double overtime. Photo by Erin Nelson.
HUNTSVILLE -- A state championship has been a long time coming for the Mountain Brook High School boys soccer program.
The time came Saturday, as the Spartans won a thriller, 2-1 in overtime over Pelham, to capture the Class 6A state title.
“It means a lot for those guys,” said Mountain Brook head coach Joe Webb, who completed his 26th season as head coach this spring.
Pelham’s Cleber Esquivel scored in the 17th minute of the contest and it looked as if that may stand for the duration as the clock ticked under 10 minutes to play in regulation.
But Mountain Brook never quit, with Vance Phillips managing to score in the final minutes to tie the game at 1-1.
“We’ve fought like that all year,” Webb said. “We’re relentless. I was just worried that one goal was going to stand all game.”
In the extra period, Phillips struck again. With just over a minute to play in overtime, Phillips found himself in the box once again, putting one into the back of the net amidst a scramble. Phillips is a natural defender, but Webb had the notion to put him at forward this season. It’s safe to say that move paid off.
“They were just scrappy goals,” Phillips said, moments after collecting his MVP trophy.
Mountain Brook scored twice in the second half to beat Fort Payne 2-0 in the semifinals Friday. The game was scoreless until the 52nd minute, when Jack Heaps broke the seal and scored off an assist from Henry Tabb. Finn Calloway scored in the 66th minute to give the Spartans a 2-0 edge.
The Spartans controlled much of the contest, outshooting Fort Payne 21-7 for the game. Mountain Brook keeper Reed Harradine was asked to make just three saves in the semifinal and three more in the final.
Pelham beat McGill-Toolen 1-0 on Friday in the semifinals.
Webb removed his Nike tennis shoes after the championship game, remembering what happened following the Spartans’ win over Homewood in the quarterfinals.
“After the Homewood game, they doused me,” he said. “It took a lot of bleach to get them back. They’ve still got Powerade in them.”
This time, he made sure his shoes were out of the way by the time a few of his players reached him with a blue Powerade cooler. Both of Webb’s sons won state titles at Oak Mountain. His players told him it was his turn this year.
“We weren’t going to let anything get in our way,” Phillips said.
Mountain Brook capped off its dominant season with a 25-2-2 record. The Spartans dominated Jasper and Pinson Valley in the opening two rounds of the playoffs before taking down Homewood in the quarterfinals.
Austin Davis, Camden Hemstreet, Cole Knight, Joe Armstrong and Ryan Diamond were the team’s seniors.