By Evan Dudley
Outside and inside, it’s all part of the same ride for Laine Minich.
An impenetrable force, a brick wall built around a net, Minich is not perfect, but the junior goalkeeper pitched a shutout in every playoff match in leading the Mountain Brook girls soccer team back to the promised land.
“Every goal is something I learn from and I have so much to learn,” Minich said. “Every game that there’s no goal, I’ve done my job.”
The top-ranked Spartans capped one of the most impressive postseasons in recent memory as they captured the 2024 Class 6A girls title with a 2-0 victory over No. 5 Briarwood Christian last Saturday at Huntsville’s John Hunt Park.
“It took all of us buying in and we knew it was going to take the full 80 minutes and it did,” Mountain Brook coach Adam Johnson said. “Briarwood was the real test for us. They were the real challenge.
“It’s cliché to say it was a team effort, but it took all 24 of us, trusting in each other and playing for each other. We tell the girls you don’t play for yourself, you play for your sisters.”
Mountain Brook (15-3-4) secured its fifth state title in program history and its first championship in more than a decade. The Spartans won titles in 1994, 1995, 2008 and 2013 and were runner-up to Oak Mountain in 2014.
“I’m in teacher/coach heaven,” Johnson said. “I have every resource and every support available to be successful. To be able to show the community that this is a program you can believe in and be proud of, it means a lot.”
Minich was named MVP for an impressive two-game performance in the state tournament, notching six saves while not allowing a single goal. The junior goalkeeper gave up eight goals all season with four coming in play, three on penalty kicks and one on a free kick.
“We’ve worked for this so hard and we really harped on defense,” Minich said. “We made sure we were tight and connected.”
Mountain Brook’s defensive acumen was on display in the title match as Briarwood took 15 total shots, four on goal, but did not come close to finding the back of the net.
Of their 22 matches played, the Spartans earned a shutout in 15, including two scoreless ties, and did not allow a goal in their five-game playoff run, shutting out Parker, two-time defending champion Homewood, Mortimer Jordan and Athens (3-0) and Briarwood in the state tournament.
“For a majority of the game, it was all freshmen on defense,” junior midfielder Langston Lilly said. “That shows how strong our team is. It was a dogfight, trying to win every single tackle and trying to win every goal, but it’s easy to do because you’re doing it for all of your teammates.”
Young Team Means Experience in the Future
As one of the youngest rosters in the state, Lilly’s teammates include two other juniors, seven sophomores and 14 freshmen.
“It’s incredible knowing that next year we’re only going to get even better,” Minich said. “Being a leader on this team with only three juniors is something all three of us had to step up to and it’s really important that we understood and took the leadership responsibility.”
Johnson saw the potential of such a young team long before the season started and attributes the success to community support and the relationship between teammates.
“You’re not going to believe me, but I knew in August,” Johnson said. “I knew it was a special group just seeing them be together and hang out together. They cared about each other. It was clear they enjoyed doing the work and enjoyed doing it together.”
Mountain Brook scored both goals on penalty kicks. Sophomore Sophie Hicks put the Spartans on top in the 11th minute of the match. The Spartans took seven shots in the first half and four on goal, and they carried the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
“Being with this team and knowing that we have the opportunity to be together next year, that’s what I’m most excited about,” Hicks said. “The bad thing about high school is you lose so many players every single year, but we have this opportunity to be even better.”
Lilly added to the advantage not five minutes into the second half, scoring on a penalty kick, and pushed the Spartans to a 2-0 lead that seemed insurmountable when considering the intense defense of Mountain Brook.
“PK’s are always a little nerve-racking even though it’s just you and the keeper,” Lilly said. “I knew I was going to make it, that’s my mindset. Through it all, I’ve had a positive mindset and never doubted that we would not win this.”
Briarwood Christian (15-5-4) enjoyed an impressive postseason as well, grabbing an 11-1 first-round victory over Hueytown, shutting out Helena and Northridge and then powering to a 5-2 win over Madison Academy in the semifinals.
“We didn’t play our best and in a game like this, you’ve got to play your best,” Briarwood coach Ryan Leib said. “We weren’t quite as sharp as I hoped we’d be.”
Although winning one title is enough to supplant a personal legacy, Mountain Brook is set up for an unprecedented run and likely will be a favorite to repeat the next two seasons with its entire team returning next season and Lilly, Minich and Virginia Poe as the only upperclassmen on deck to graduate next year.
“We’re so excited because this is the same team we’re going to have next year,” Lilly said. “We’re trying to build a legacy here. Not just winning a state championship but the atmosphere we have here. Yes, we’re young, but we’ve become a family and sisters. This starts a new legacy at Mountain Brook and we’re building something awesome.”
