BROOKHAVEN — Seniors Matti Claire Smith and Ava Calcote jumped up and down with teammates following Brookhaven Academy’s 5-2 win over Oak Forest Academy Tuesday night. Chloe Nelson and Ainsley Orr, also seniors, joined in on the celebrations. 

Brookhaven Academy had to beat Oak Forest to win a district championship and got off to a strong start. Kyndra Quinn, a junior, scored all five goals in the game to give the Cougars the win. 

Smith said it was nice to win on senior night. The victory has key playoff implications as well

“It feels good especially since it was against Oak Fores they are our biggest rivals. It feels good to win district,” Smith said. “It is good to win too because we would have had to go on the road to East Rankin if we had lost. It will be good to be here and have our fans.”

Quinn’s first goal came five minutes into the game when she fired a loose ball off of a defender and into the goal. Quinn scored again just six minutes later. Oak Forest ruined the clean sheet bid with 11 mintues left in the first half by scoring a goal from a corner kick. 

Quinn responded with a beautiful curling shot from outside the box with 5:41 left in the first half to make it 3-1. 

It took just nine minutes after halftime for Quinn to find the back of the net again. She got on the ball on a break away and scored leaving a defender and goalkeeper laying face down in despair. 

Oak Forest fought back into the game by scoring just five minutes later on a well executed counter attack to make it 4-2. Quinn would score her fifth and final goal with 21 minutes left in the match to make it 5-2. 

Head Coach Alex Brown was pleased with his team’s performance.

“Oak Forest is a great team and they have tons of good players and are really well coached. I have a lot of respect for their level and what they do. My girls played their tails off,” Brown said. “As a coach, I can’t ask for any more than that. I consider it a blessing and a privilege to get to coach these girls.”

A resounding cheer erupted at the final whistle as Brookhaven Academy celebrated at midfield. Players thanked the crowd for their support. BA will host the first round of the playoffs next Tuesday with kickoff set for 6 p.m. 

Park Place Academy or St. Aloysius could be the opponent BA plays in the first round. Smith said she enjoys playing in front of a bunch of fans at home. 

“We would rather play when the stands are full. It feels good when they come and watch us,” Smith said.

She added as a senior this season has gone by fast, faster than other seasons. She is one of three senior defenders and will play soccer at Southwest Mississippi Community College next year. 

“This is my favorite team. I love the girls this year. I feel like we are closer than any other team. With other teams we couldn’t have fun the way we do. We are all close. We just love eachother,” Smith said. “We lost Ainsley when she got hurt and tore her ACL. It was tough at first and we switched to a three back line. We have a hang of it now and it is working better.”