Rebels win clash of top soccer teams

Sophia Kamburis’ goal with under 20 minutes to play lifted No. 2 Vestavia Hills to a 2-1 victory over top-ranked Oak Mountain in a clash of the top two teams in Class 7A on Monday afternoon at Oak Mountain High School.

When asked how proud she was of her team, Rebel head coach Brigid Littleton kept it simple.

“So proud,” she said.

The first half was played almost exclusively on the Vestavia Hills side of the field, as Oak Mountain dominated the possession and had a few scoring chances, but came up empty. The Rebels considered themselves lucky to be sitting with a scoreless tie at halftime.

“After halftime, we all figured out in each and every one of us who wanted it. We all got on the same page and it showed,” forward Kennedy Hicks said.

The second half started with a bang for both sides, as each team scored within the first ten minutes. Julia Freeman got Vestavia on the board first with a goal after the ball found its way to her right in front of the net. Auburn commit Hailey Whitaker tied the game minutes later as a shot caromed off the cross bar, and Whitaker slammed home the loose ball.

Littleton said her team began to play the way she was asking after a rough first half.

She said, “When they started implementing things that we discussed at halftime, things went the other way. We got hammered, we survived the first half basically and then we played really well the second half.”

After Oak Mountain tied the game, the Rebels’ backline of Abigail Albritton, Lindsay Copeland, and Freeman stood tall the rest of the way to not allow the Eagles to crack the scoreboard again.

“You get a little fire behind you when they get that equalizer. It almost pushes you even harder, but in this game, when you’re kind of lagging at the beginning, you need that extra push to get you going again,” Albritton said, as the Rebels played the next ten minutes before securing the winning goal.

“When one person misses a play, we have somebody behind them that will get it. We always have one person that’s got our backs,” Copeland said.

But they could not have done it without a spectacular effort from goalkeeper Lauren Roussell, especially in the first half. Roussell (Auburn), Copeland (Samford), and Albritton (Wofford) have all signed to play soccer collegiately and make up part of one of the toughest defensive units in the state.

The Rebels return to action at home on Friday night against Hewitt-Trussville. Game time is set for 7 p.m.