Russellville High School's varsity soccer team recently competed in the AHSAA Class 5A playoffs.
On April 30, the Russellville Boys played the first playoff game of the 2024 season against Boaz Pirates, with the Golden Tigers winning 3-2.
With 32:43 left in the first half, Richard Scott scored from a corner kick by Eric Jacinto, giving RHS a 1-0 lead. Boaz tied it two minutes later with a goal from Brayan López and took a 2-1 lead when Jose Arreguín found the net with 2:52 left in the first half.
The Golden Tigers' defense, including goaltender Miguel Andres, held the Pirates scoreless in the second half until Russellville's Manny Martinez scored the tying goal with 35:47 left in the game. Heilei Tekle then added the winning goal with 5:44 left in the second half.
“Hats off to Boaz,” Russellville boys head coach Trey Stanford said. “For the second year in a row they came to us and completely worked their tail off of us.”
The Golden Tigers were able to feed off the energy of the home crowd. “What a great atmosphere,” Stanford said. “I couldn't ask for anything better. We asked every player who's ever played for us to come here and a lot of them responded and a lot of them came here. We're very grateful for that. It's the best program in the state. Whether we win or not, it's still the best program in the state.”
On May 3, Russellville's boys team played against Guntersville, but lost in the quarterfinals with a final score of 2-1 in overtime.
Both teams fought scoreless in the first half. Russellville (16-4-2) led 1-0 in the second half, but Guntersville (23-3-1) tied it with a second-half goal and won with a goal in overtime. Ending Russellville's season.
The Russellville girls team also qualified for the playoffs after a successful regular season. On April 29, Russellville High School (11-7) played Guntersville High School (21-3-2) in the opening playoff game, and the Golden Tigers lost 3-1. Kyra Martinez scored as a right guard in the Golden Tigers' final game of the season.
“Overall, our season was a great success compared to last year,” Russellville girls head coach Daraney Roberts said. “If you look at the season as a whole, our results have improved, but not only that, our goal difference was negative last year, but this year it's significantly positive.” “
