The St. Luke’s boys soccer team found a bit of redemption Friday afternoon in Huntsville.

After losing to Tanner in their first finals trip a year ago, the Wildcats made sure it didn’t happen the second time around.

Though it fell behind 1-0 early, St. Luke’s reeled off three straight goals and held on for a 3-2 victory over Westminster-Oak Mountain in the Class 1A-3A state championship match at John Hunt Park.

The win earned the Wildcats their first state soccer title.

“A lot of teams talk about winning the next year after a tough defeat the year before, but it’s really tough to go out there, train and get the job done knowing it could easily go one of two ways,” seventh-year coach Ryon Depinet said. “I knew the heartbreak of last year could defeat us or it could power us forward, and I think it did push us and allow us to understand that we are a good team. We are one of the better teams in the state. Now let’s go out and show it.”

St. Luke’s (20-7-2) lost just four seniors from last year’s runner-up team and just two starters, so expecations were high from the beginning.

“Pretty much the whole team was one year better,” Depinet said. “We had a drive to get back to Huntsville to the state championship. To win it was amazing for St. Luke’s and for the city of Mobile.”

Westminster’s Aiden Gamble put St. Luke’s in an early 1-0 hole Friday just 3:11 into the match. The Wildcats didn’t panic.

Junior Mason Brown tied the match at 31:42 in the first half with a goal set up by an assist from Jamison Bryant. St. Luke’s took the lead for good seven minutes later with Ryan Knotts punching in a goal at the 38.33 mark. Knotts, who earned MVP honors, made it 3-1 with a goal early in the second half. His first goal was set up by an assist from Daniel Grafton and the second by Brown.

“We fell behind early,” Depinet said. “Westminster had one really quality player and we switched our defense a bit for him. After that first goal, we didn’t waver. We didn’t get down on ourselves. We knew no matter what we were going to keep pushing. We were able to get three goals and just kind of hold on until that last whistle.”

Westminster-Oak Mountain (19-5-4) added a late goal at 67:07 with sophomore David Bean scoring with an assist from Walter Moore. The Knights were trying to win their third state title since 2015.

Senior goalkeeper Larson Holt finished with four saves for the Wildcats. Sam Carter had two as the Knights’ keeper.

Depinet took the job at St. Luke’s when he was just 19.

“When I took over, I think maybe the most we’d won in a season was five matches,” he said. “Over time, we just kept getting a little stronger. Our third year, we made the final four. Then COVID happened. Last year, we made it to the championship for the first time. It really does seem like we’ve progressed every year, and that is a testament to our boys not getting down but wanting something extra each year.”