Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
The Marbury girls’ soccer team clinched the Class 5A Area 5 championship in dominant fashion with home and away victories over Demopolis and Booker T. Washington Magnet, by a combined score of 21-0. It is the second year in a row the Bulldogs have won the Area 5 championship.
“It has been awesome watching this team win the area championship,” said Head Coach Brent Sowell. “We have many players on the team who have been in the program for 4 or more years, and seeing their growth and development pay off in back-to-back area championships has made me proud of their hard work.”
Marbury is currently ranked #6 in Class 5A. The Bulldogs have not allowed a single goal while playing at home all season.
“There really is no secret to what we are doing. We have established a system at Marbury over the years to create a program of progress with a process-oriented mindset. That continuity of culture over the years has really paid off and helped to produce the success we have. Our players have bought into that culture and understand the standard required to be successful,” said Coach Sowell.
Marbury has also accomplished several firsts for the program this year. In February, the Bulldogs competed in the Lakeshore Shootout, one of the largest high school tournaments of the year, held in the Birmingham area. For the first time in school history, Marbury won their division, following wins over Shelby County (5-0), Fultondale (1-0), and a scoreless tie against Crossville.
In another tournament in March, Marbury defeated Class 7A Foley (2-0). It was Marbury’s first ever win over a Class 7A team, according to Coach Sowell.
The Bulldogs will finish the regular season early this week against Chilton County on Monday and Tallassee on Tuesday before hosting the 1st round of the Class 5A playoffs on Thursday against Brewbaker Tech. Coach Sowell knows that the Bulldogs will have a tough task against a Brew Tech team that is ranked #7 in Class 5A and has lost only two games all season, one of which was an area game that cost them the area championship. Plus, Marbury and Brew Tech played earlier this season to a scoreless draw.
“We had an early exit from the playoffs last year, and this year the team captains and I decided that our motto for the year would be “One More Round”. It’s our goal to focus on making it to the next round of the playoffs and to stay hungry for one more round after each playoff game. We have been playing well, and I cannot wait to see how they do in the playoffs this year,” said Coach Sowell.
