Guntersville and Southside-Gadsden came close to finishing their AHSAA Class 5A State Soccer Championships boys semifinal match Wednesday night before storms sent both teams to safe shelter.

The teams returned Thursday morning to finish the final 1:20 of the match – moving to the new Turf Field 4 at Loretta P. Spencer Sports Complex at Huntsville’s John Hunt Park with No. 2 Guntersville clinging to a 1-0 lead.

A new day meant a new opportunity for Southside – and they came very, very close. Still trailing 1-0 with 2 seconds left Thursday morning, Southside senior midfielder Andrea Favero lined up for a free kick on the north side of the field about 35 yards away from the goal while the other players from both sides gathered in front of the goal. His only kick on goal for the match was a beauty, sailing directly into the mesh of players just a few yards from its destination. It almost went in.

Guntersville (25-3-1) and the No. 1-ranked Panthers (25-3-1) batted the ball around for a few more seconds before it finally slipped just outside the net thanks to goalkeeper Slade Mohr as the Wildcats preserved their 1-0 victory.

Coach Zach Ross’ Guntersville squad took the lead Wednesday night on goal by sophomore forward Brandon Manganaris, who buried a shot off a save deflection by teammate A.J. Shumate 8 minutes into the second half. The two teams then battled scoreless the rest of the night – having to suspend the game with 80 seconds remaining.

Guntersville’s defense limited Southside to only 2 shots on goal. Mohr managed 2 saves. Southside limited the Wildcats to 3 shots on goal with keeper Hayes Cosby notching 2 saves.

The Wildcats will be looking to claim their first boys’ state soccer championship Friday morning when they meet Gulf Shores, a 2-1 winner over Tallassee in the other 5A semifinal match that was completed Thursday. The two teams play for the championship at 9 a.m. All championship matches are being live video streamed over the NFHS Network subscriber-based network.

Gulf Shores 2, Tallassee 1

The Gulf Shores boys joined the girls’ team in the finals with the win Thursday morning. The Dolphins (20-7-2) broke a 1-1 tie to beat Tallassee.

The Dolphins and Tigers played all but 27:42 of their semifinal match Wednesday night before the storms sent them home for the night.

Senior forward Matteus Siqueira delivered the winning kick for Gulf Shores at the 58-minute mark of second half – 3 minutes into Thursday morning’s action.

Coach Matthew Tarpley’s Tallassee squad (20-5-4) took a 1-0 lead Wednesday night with a goal by junior forward Irvin Delfin at 19:34 in the first half. Sophomore Lewis Moseley provided the assist. It took just 20 seconds, however, for Danny Norton’s Dolphins to tie the match. Sophomore Nathaniel Duhel scored to tie the match at 1-1. That’s how it still stood when the match was suspended.

Tallassee goalkeeper senior Trey Bosch finished with 8 saves while Gulf Shores keeper Taylor Barkley had 2.

AHSAA 2024 SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS

Loretta P. Spencer Sports Complex

at John Hunt Park, Huntsville

Semifinals Schedule/Results

CLASS 1A/3A

GIRLS SEMIFINALS

St. James (16-1-1) 7, St. Luke’s Episcopal (14-7-2) 0

Donoho (19-1-1) 5, Madison Academy (9-8-2) 0

Finals, Friday, 2 p.m.

St. James (16-1-1) vs. Donoho (19-1-1)

BOYS SEMIFINALS

St. Luke’s Episcopal (19-7-3) 6, Tuscaloosa Academy (14-6-2) 1

Westminster-Oak Mountain (19-4-4) 6, Tanner (18-6-1) 1

Finals, Friday, 11:30 a.m.

St. Luke’s Episcopal (19-7-3) vs. Westminster-Oak Mountain (19-4-4)

CLASS 4A

GIRLS SEMIFINALS

St. Michael (19-2) 8, Oneonta (10-12-1) 0

Westminster Christian (17-2-1) 7, Jacksonville (19-3-2) 0

Finals, Friday, 2 p.m.

St. Michael (19-2) vs. Westminster Christian (17-2-1)

BOYS SEMIFINALS

Bayside Academy (9-4-2) 1, Oneonta (15-78-2) 0 (2 OT, 4-1 in shootout)

Mars Hill Bible (15-10) 1, Westbrook Christian (14-13-1) 0

Finals, Friday, 2 p.m.

Bayside Academy (9-4-2) vs. Mars Hill Bible (15-10)

CLASS 5A

GIRLS SEMIFINALS

Gulf Shores (19-5-4) 2, Sylacauga (18-4-0) 0

Springville (22-1) 4, Guntersville (23-4-2) 1

Finals, Friday, 11:30 a.m.

Springville (22-1) vs. Gulf Shores (19-5-4)

BOYS SEMIFINALS

Gulf Shores (20-7-1) 2, Tallassee (20-5-4) 1

Guntersville (25-3-1) 1, Southside (25-3-1) 0

Finals, Friday, 9 a.m.

Gulf Shores (20-7-1) vs. Guntersville (25-3-1)

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE

(times approximate based rolling schedule)

CLASS 6A

GIRLS SEMIFINALS

Montgomery Academy (13-3-1) vs. Briarwood Christian (14-4-3), Thursday, noon

Mountain Brook (13-3-4) vs. Athens (14-7-4), Thursday, noon

BOYS SEMIFINALS

Spanish Fort (11-9-2) vs. Northridge (19-5-2), Thursday, 2 p.m.

Homewood (21-2-3) vs. Fort Payne (12-12), Thursday, 2 p.m.

CLASS 7A

GIRLS SEMIFINALS

McGill-Toolen (16-2-4) vs. Auburn (18-3-1), Thursday, 4 p.m.

Hoover (20-4-2) vs. Huntsville (12-6-4), Thursday, 4 p.m.

BOYS SEMIFINALS

Fairhope (17-3-1) vs. Auburn (16-3-2), Thursday, 6 p.m.

Oak Mountain (27-0-1) vs. Huntsville (14-7-4), Thursday, 6 p.m.