Lady Patriots claim 1st state title
HUNTSVILLE — Jada Repp faced a stark reality during halftime of the Class 6A girls soccer state championship game on Saturday morning.
There were 40 minutes remaining on the clock of her high school career, no matter the outcome of the game.
“It was kind of a bittersweet moment,” Repp said of her halftime realization. “If I don’t get it now, there’s no way I’m going to be able to come back and try again.”
The senior goalkeeper made the most of the time she had left, recording four critical saves and leading the Homewood High School girls soccer team to a 3-2 win over Chelsea at John Hunt Park. Her efforts allowed the Lady Patriots to capture their first state championship in program history.
“It’s an indescribable feeling. It’s something special, it’s something new,” said Mindy McBride, Homewood’s head coach.
Repp faced just one shot in the first half, and Chelsea’s Kailey Littleford finished the chance to bring the Lady Hornets level at 1-1 midway through the half. Chelsea took a 2-1 lead on a Morgan Bright penalty kick 15 minutes into the second half.
But that would be all Repp allowed. She made two critical saves in the moments after Chelsea claimed the lead, setting the stage for Homewood’s offense to turn a one-goal deficit into a one-goal edge in the waning minutes.
“I wanted to leave it all on the field and I really wanted it for my teammates,” said Repp, who has been the Lady Patriots’ starting goalkeeper for four seasons. “Not just for myself, but I really wanted this for our nine seniors who are leaving this year.”
With just over 10 minutes to play in the contest, Maggie O’Hare — who scored Homewood’s first goal 14:34 into the first half — fed Eleanor Kyle for the equalizer. Not even 90 seconds later, Kyle assisted Claire Touliatos, who planted another one in the back of the net to put the Lady Patriots up 3-2.
“Jada was amazing. Jada was fantastic,” said McBride, who is in the second year of her second stint as head coach. “She’s a senior goalkeeper who’s played a lot of games for us and she was lights out. She did what she needed to do. She took the team on her back and really made things happen.”
Homewood found a way to turn the tide of the game after Chelsea took the lead and controlled the majority of play in the second half.
“It was a game of ups and downs,” McBride said. “There were turns between who was taking control of the game; we did it a little bit, they did it a little bit.”
Touliatos said the team was determined to encourage one another regardless of the ebbs and flows that come with each contest. Her goal sent Homewood’s senior class out with the ultimate crown.
“We’ve got nine seniors on our team and they really wanted to go out with something special,” McBride said. “They’ve worked hard. We’ve been putting in the work since the beginning of the school year, we’ve been in the weight room, we’ve been doing our fitness, doing all the things for this moment.”
Not only did Homewood win the state championship, the victory over Chelsea helped the Lady Patriots accomplish a task that seemed nearly as daunting as winning a blue map. Chelsea has been the team to eliminate Homewood from the state playoffs each of the three previous years.
“It’s amazing to finally beat them,” Repp said. “We’ve lost to them four times since my freshman year and to finally get it when it counts at state — we knew it was going to be hard.”
It was, but Repp and the rest of the Lady Patriots were up for the challenge on Saturday. Homewood advanced to the final with an 8-0 victory over Decatur in Friday's semifinal behind a hat trick from O'Hare. The Lady Patriots finished the season with a 19-4-5 record.
The nine seniors went out on top, along with their coach. McBride plans to move into an administrative role at Homewood Middle School in the fall. But she’s excited about what lies ahead for the Lady Patriots program.
“It sets a tone for the future," she said. "The girls know that whoever is coming in after them has a standard that they need to rise up to. I’m very proud of them.”
Homewood boys fall in semifinals
The Homewood boys soccer team could not defend its state title from a season ago. The Patriots fell to Fort Payne 2-0 in Friday's semifinal and finished with a 19-3-4 record.
"We came up just a little bit short. That's all," head coach Sean McBride said. "I just think the better team took their chances and finished it."