By Rubin E. Grant
The Vestavia Hills girls soccer team won its second straight Class 7A title last Saturday, chalking up a perfect 23-0-0 season and tying the state’s longest girls soccer winning streak with their 28th consecutive victory.
The Rebels scored two goals in the first 14:41 of the match and went on to shut out McGill-Toolen Catholic 2-0 during the AHSAA championship game at the John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville.
“At the beginning of the season, our seniors set two goals: one was to win two straight state championships, and one was to be undefeated,” Vestavia Hills coach Brigid Meadow said. “We didn’t focus on going undefeated. It didn’t sink in until we were about to get the trophy and my assistant said it’s been an amazing season and we’re undefeated. I said, ‘Oh my gosh, we are undefeated.’ I’ve never coached an undefeated team before.
“They’re going to go down as the … first undefeated team in history for girls soccer at Vestavia. They’ll be talking about this 20 years from now.”
Vestavia Hills has won the 7A state championship three of the past four years. McGill-Toolen won the title in 2017. The Rebels have six girls state championships in total, from 2019, 2018, 2016, 2007, 2005 and 2001.
They also now share the AHSAA’s longest winning streak record with Oak Mountain, which equaled the 28 straight wins in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Their last loss came April 13, 2018, to James Clemens 3-2. The Rebels beat the Jets in last year’s playoffs one month later and won 5-1 against James Clemens in the semifinals last Friday.
Senior forward Lizzie Hill scored the Rebels’ first goal just 6:30 into the championship match. She finished with four shots on goal and earned MVP honors.
“Lizzie is a force to be reckoned with,” Meadow said. “She’s so relentless in what she does.”
Sophomore Riley Vicinanzo scored the second goal eight minutes later at 14:41.
The Rebels’ tenacious defense did the rest. Senior goalkeeper Anna Woodson recorded six saves.
Vestavia Hills outscored its opponents 90-9 this season and finished with 17 shutouts.
“We pushed each other for this moment,” Hill said. “It was worth it.”
Meadow celebrated her own milestone earlier this month, chalking up her 300th win as head coach for the Rebels in a playoff game against Hoover. She has coached the Rebels for 15 years.
