Three Baldwin County soccer teams returned from the AHSAA State Soccer Championships in Huntsville with hardware as runners-up in their classification.

Girls’ teams from St. Michael (Class 4A) and Gulf Shores (Class 5A) as well as the Spanish Fort boys’ team (Class 6A) earned Red Map trophies for second-place finishes in the state bracket. It was the second straight appearance and trophy for the Cardinals and Dolphins where the Toros had qualified for the program’s first Final Four in history.

Cardinals collect another Red Map

St. Michael punched its return ticket back to the finals with an 8-0 semifinal win over Oneonta.

Senior Maddie Key led the way with a hat trick on top of individual goals from eighth-grader Stella Pavao, junior Francheska Arellano, sophomore Sabrina Pulido and sophomore Caroline Callahan. Senior Katy Ford, sophomore Nora Welden Montgomery and Pavao added an assist each as the Cardinals racked up 29 shots against 0.

Key provided the Cardinals’ lone goal only 52 seconds into the championship match but Westminster Christian kept them off the board the rest of the game to earn a 3-1 decision on Friday, which was a rematch of last year’s state finals.

St. Michael, head coached by Brian Daughtery, finished the season 18-3 overall.

Dolphins earn runner-up finish in program’s first two finals appearances

Senior Jocelyn Maldet and junior Kylie Halliday helped Gulf Shores construct its return path to the finals with a 2-0 semifinal win over Sylacauga. The Dolphins racked up 10 shots on goal as sophomore goalkeeper Marline McCartney logged a shutout in net.

Gulf Shores then faced Springville in another rematch of last year’s finals. The Dolphins took a 2-1 lead into halftime after senior Ansley Warner added on top of an own goal from the Tigers. Springville junior Rebecca Sierra-Burciaga logged two goals four minutes apart in the latter stages of the match to help the Tigers repeat with a 5-2 win.

Gulf Shores, head coached by Chad Harrelson, finished the season 19-6-4 overall.

Toros log first state finals berth in history

Senior Jacob Anderson used a second-half hat trick to help Spanish Fort punch its first ticket to the state finals in program history with a 4-2 semifinal win over Northridge. Sophomore John Finlay opened the scoring for the Toros and also added an assist alongside seniors Owen Poole and David Luz.

In its first-ever state championship appearance, Spanish Fort faced a Homewood squad seeking its seventh state title and a fourth in the last 11 years. The Patriots staked claim to an early three-goal lead that was too tall for the Toros to come back from despite a second-half goal from junior Dylan Gaynor.

The Toros, head coached by Jason Bauer, finished 12-10-2 overall.