By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

Feb. 13

Spain Park 1 Homewood 0

The No. 3 ranked Spain Park Jags got their 2017 soccer campaign off to a strong start behind a 1-0 road victory over the Homewood Patriots. Spain Park scored in the 31^st minute of the first half on a counterattack after Brooks Rice out-raced defenders to play the ball past the keeper for the only goal of the game.

Pelham 11 McAdory 1

Pelham started their season as the No. 2 team in the 6A classification and looked every bit the part in their 11-1 win over McAdory on Feb. 13. Seven different players scored for the Panthers in the contest including back-to-back goals from Adrian Arceo to end the first half. McAdory scored their only goal at the 13-minute mark of the first half.

Oak Mountain 2 Vestavia 2 

The No. 1 Oak Mountain Eagles are considered to be a perennial powerhouse when it comes to soccer and they started their 2017 season with a tough matchup at No. 4 Vestavia. After trailing 2-0 early in the match, the Eagles mounted a huge come back to pull out a 2-2 draw with the Rebels. Both Oak Mountain goals came in the second half as Chad Jeter and John long accounted for both of their goals early in the second period.

Thompson 7 Calera 1

The Warriors are considered to be the No. 11 team in 7A, which features some impressive talent, and after their 7-1 win over Calera to start the season, Thompson made an early statement that they want to be included with the other greats in the state.

Helena 1 Northridge 3

Another strong opening night contest featured two top 10 teams among the 6A ranks. Helena, sitting at No. 7, faced off in home matchup with No. 4 Northridge. The Huskies fell 3-1, but opening the season with such a tough opponent should make the loss no cause for concern.

Chelsea 0 Mountain Brook 3

Chelsea is looking to rebound from last season, but just like basketball, they will be competing in a tough area with two top 10 teams in Pelham and Helena. The Hornets fell in their opener to Mountain Brook by a final of 3-0.

Feb. 14

Calera 11 Hueytown 1

Calera rebounded from their opening night loss to a good 7A Thompson team by taking out their frustration on Hueytown. The Eagles put up 11 goals during the match to win this one going away to improve to 1-1 on the season.

Indian Springs 2 Briarwood 1

Indian Springs and Westminster at Oak Mountain both sit inside the top 4 of the 1A-4A division showing how tough those two teams will be this season. Indian Springs got their season underway against another good team in 5A No. 6 Briarwood. Indian Springs was able to narrowly squeak past the Lions in a very entertaining match as they won 2-1 to advance to 1-0 on the season.

Pelham 4 Hillcrest 0

The Panthers traveled to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, Feb. 14, to play their second game of the season in as many days. Wilson Salazar picked up his first shutout of the season as the goalie making two saves in the process. Jose Jimenez had two goals in the second half to put things away. Edwuin Sostenes and Irvin Rodriguez both had goals in the first half to put the Panthers up 2-0. Pelham moved to 2-0 on the season with the win.