Rebel soccer teams cruise to opening round wins

Both Vestavia Hills High School soccer teams successfully negotiated the first round of the AHSAA Class 7A playoffs Tuesday night on their home turf, as the boys and girls each defeated Spain Park by four-goal margins.

Girls: Vestavia Hills 4, Spain Park 0

The Rebel girls began the defense of their state championship by blanking the Jaguars in fairly easy fashion. Though there wasn’t much in the way of a flow in the game, Vestavia Hills was in control from the kickoff to the final whistle, thanks in part to a diminutive freshman who was brought up to the varsity ranks because of injuries to other players.

Izzy Passman scored the opening goal for the hosts in the 18th minute, as she blasted from about 12 yards out at an angle.

“Izzy was outstanding on our JV team, and I knew she was very skilled and fast, so I put her on the outside,” Vestavia coach Brigid Littleton said.

That marked the lone goal in the first half.

The Rebels pressed their advantage further as they game wore on, taking advantage of Spain Park miscues. After a Jags defender took down a Vestavia attacker just inside the penalty area, Anna Hogewood doubled her team’s margin with a successful penalty kick 11 minutes after halftime.

Lizzie Hill then scored for the Rebels (17-1-3) off a pass from Taylor Korn in the 67th minute, and Korn then scored six minutes later off an assist from Caroline Silvio.

“I liked what we did defensively, and overall we played an outstanding game,” Littleton said. “But we need to work on finishing. We had several chances where we just didn’t finish.”

Spain Park finishes the season with a 13-7-1 record.

Vestavia Hills hosts James Clemens in the second round.

Boys: Vestavia Hills 5, Spain Park 1

A scoring charge by Davis Peterson put the Rebels on the scoreboard just two minutes into the game, and the hosts never looked back.

Peterson took the ball in the middle of the pitch about 35 yards from goal, turned on the afterburners and blazed his way downfield to put the ball in the net.

Vestavia dominated play in the first half with both size and speed, and held a large advantage in ball possession. Their defense rarely allowed the visitors to press in their offensive half, and Spain Park only got off four shots, two of them on goal, before intermission.

John Johnston put the Rebels ahead 2-0 on a penalty kick in the 28th minute, and Clayton Bowden added a goal from a rebound in heavy traffic two minutes later, scoring when Jags goalkeeper Trevor Bernier couldn’t control a previous shot.

Eight minutes into the second half, Vestavia Hills went up 4-0 when Coleman Jennings scored off a crossing pass in the box from Bowden.

Spain Park (14-7-1) got its only goal of the game two minutes from the final whistle, as Brooks Rice scored from a tough angle. But the Rebels (15-4-2) answered with just over a minute to play, as Tyler Turner scored off a rebound.

It was a good effort from a starting eleven that Rebs coach Leo Harlan said hasn’t played together too much.

“It’s only the second game that we’ve had this starting alignment out there, and I don’t think we played our best,” Harlan said. “They still have to jel.”

Vestavia hosts Bob Jones in the second round, after the Patriots defeated Huntsville 2-1.