1 of 13

Spain Park's Kayla Wiggins kicks her final of three goals during the win to end her night with a hat-trick performance. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

HOOVER – Spain Park and Westminster at Oak Mountain may be at opposite ends of the classification spectrum, but with both girls soccer teams being ranked inside the top three of their respective classifications, it made for a chance at a momentous win for either team on Tuesday, April 17.

The Jaguars, however, had extra motivation on their side as they celebrated four special seniors on their home field in front of family and friends.

While it was a special night for Ashley Tessmann, Alyssa Young, Kayla Wiggins and Mia Bradley, all of who played a part in a victory, it was an even more special night for Wiggins, who put forth a hat-trick performance to lead the Jags to an 8-2 win.

While Wiggins had an exciting night, she didn’t score a goal in the first half of the game.

Instead, three different players put goals on the board and it started with Jasmine Greene, who has been one of the best scorers in the county this season. She put Spain Park up 1-0 in the first 25 minutes of the game.

It didn’t take long after that for the first senior goal of the night, as Bradley was able to tally a goal with 14 minutes remaining in the opening period to put the Jags on top 2-0.

Just more than 10 minutes later, the Greene combination struck again when Haley Greene added her first goal of the game with three minutes remaining in the half to give Spain Park a 3-0 advantage at the break.

Haley and Jasmine Greene have been a scoring/assisting force this season and gave the Jaguars the cushion they needed at the end of the half due to having Vivian Gray in goal, who will rarely give up a three-goal lead.

It took all of 57 seconds for Wiggins to score her first of three goals of the game in the second period, as she quickly put Spain Park on top 4-0.

It became a big goal for the Jaguars early in the second half because Morgan White added two goals in the next 20 minutes to cut the Jags’ lead to 4-2. If it hadn’t been for Wiggins’ goal, the lead would have been just one goal with right around 20 minutes remaining.

Instead, Spain Park still had a two-goal lead and responded with four goals in the final 20 minutes of the game to ice the win. In a six-minute span, Wiggins added her final two goals and Haley Greene posted her second goal to create the final score of 8-2.

With the win, Spain Park moved to 13-5 overall this season, while the Knights fell to 10-3-1. With a win against a winless Huffman team on Friday, the Jags will clinch a spot in the playoffs.

More 280 Main Story

Chelsea celebrates holidays with 25th annual Christmas parade

Best at the net: 2024 All-County volleyball teams honor area’s top stars

Chelsea’s Lauren Buchanan named Shelby County Player of the Year after record-setting season

Briarwood boys claim second place at Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic