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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

JEKYLL ISLAND, GA – The Oak Mountain Eagles continued their perfect start to the season against some of Georgia’s top teams, and a program legend accomplished a key career milestone.

Oak Mountain coach David DiPiazza earned his 500th career win in the Eagles’ 10-0 victory over the Lowndes Vikings on Saturday, March 9.

DiPiazza entered the tournament needing two victories to reach the landmark and succeeded after Oak Mountain finished the weekend with two wins and one draw.

The Eagles kicked off the weekend with a 1-1 draw against the Oconnee County Warriors out of Georgia’s Class AAA on Thursday, March 7.

While Gerardo Rodriguez scored a goal for Oak Mountain, the sides finished the game with a goal apiece to end in a draw.

The draw was the first of the season for the Eagles and ended their 10-match win streak but kept their undefeated season alive.

Aidan Riley led the rest of the offense with six shots and three on goal and Nate Joiner had five shots with three finishing on target.

The next day, Oak Mountain set out to get back in the win column in its battle with Atlanta’s St. Pius X Catholic Golden Lions out of Class AAAAAA.

The Eagles started the match on a tear with three goals in the first half to enter the halftime break with a 3-0 lead.

The defense continued to hold the Golden Lions scoreless as Owen Well earned a pair of saves to maintain the clean sheet.

Oak Mountain wasn’t satisfied with its lead and added two more goals after halftime to finish off the 5-0 win.

Riley and Joiner each finished the match with two goals and an assist to power the Eagles to victory. Alex Taylor joined the scoring with a goal of his own.

Five different players earned an assist in the victory as Riley, Joiner, Rodriguez, Harrison Kilgore and Sam Collins each assisted a goal.

Gabe Capocci led Oak Mountain in shots with shots with five. All four of Riley’s shots finished on target, and Joiner had three of his four shots end on goal. Collins and Julian Harrison each finished the match with three shots.

After rediscovering their winning ways, the Eagles finished the weekend on Saturday, March 9 with a victory over a team from the highest classification in Georgia, Class AAAAAAA: the Lowndes Vikings.

Oak Mountain stormed out of the gate, scoring six goals before halftime to take a commanding lead at the break.

With the Eagles leading 6-0, the backline continued the shutout to earn its second straight clean sheet.

Oak Mountain then polished off the win on the other end of the field, scoring the four goals needed to trigger the mercy rule and earn the 10-0 victory.

Harrison led the offense with a hat trick and an assist as he scored three goals on the day. Capocci and Rodriguez each had a brace, and Rodriguez added a pair of assists as well. Riley, Joiner and Om Shrestha each scored a goal as well to finish off the scoring.

Riley, Joiner, Shrestha, Kilgore, Laney and Sam Laney all recorded an assist to go with Rodriguez and Harrison’s efforts.

Harrison led the way with five shots and three on goal, Capocci had four shots with two on target and all three of Rodriguez’s shots finished on goal.

The win not only helped DiPiazza reach 500 wins, but it also ensured that the Eagles remained atop the Class 7A boys soccer coaches poll when the latest edition released on March 10.

Oak Mountain will return to action on Tuesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. against Vestavia Hills for the first of three home matches in four days at Oak Mountain High School.

The Eagles girls soccer team also competed in the Tournament of Champions and finished the weekend with one win, one draw and one loss.

After opening the tournament with just its second loss of the season in a defeat to Oconee County, Oak Mountain bounced back to draw 1-1 with St. Pius X on Friday and downed Lowndes 2-0 on Saturday to finish the tournament strong.

The varsity girls will also face Vestavia Hills at home on Tuesday, March 12 at 5 p.m.