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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – In a highly-anticipated clash of not just two of the top teams in the state, but in the nation, the Oak Mountain Eagles came out on top in the battle of No. 1 teams against the Mountain Brook Spartans.

The Class 7A No. 1 Eagles defeated the Class 6A No. 1 Spartans 2-0 on Thursday, March 14 at Oak Mountain High School to keep their undefeated season alive and bolster their resume as one of the top teams in the country.

The match was also notable as the AHSAA announced it was the first-ever meeting between two 500-win soccer coaches in the state’s history.

Both Oak Mountain coach David DiPiazza and Mountain Brook coach Joe Webb reached the milestone earlier in March, with DiPiazza’s milestone win coming at the Tournament of Champions against Georgia’s Lowndes on Saturday, March 9.

Once the match began, Oak Mountain took control powered by Roy Soldevilla on offense.

Soldevilla scored the opening goal of the match in the first half after he received a header from Gabe Capocci and put the ball into the back of the net to give the Eagles the 1-0 advantage.

Oak Mountain led 1-0 going into halftime, but it wasn’t content with just the lone goal and doubled up in the second half.

For the second time of the evening, Soldevilla factored into a goal as he played a pass to Sam Collins who scored to increase the lead to 2-0.

Once again, the Eagles defense proved to be a strong unit as it turned in another clean sheet, its 10th of the season, to clinch the 2-0 win.

Capocci led the team in shots with four as two ended up on goal. Collins and Gerardo Rodriguez each had three shots on the evening. Both of Aidan Riley’s shots were on target and Soldevilla and Nate Taylor each had two shots as well.

Owen Wells earned the shutout after saving the lone dangerous effort that Mountain Brook presented in the game.

The Eagles will have a quick turnaround as they will host Dothan on Friday, March 15 at 7 p.m. at Heardmont Park.