Fort Payne’s Cristian Barrientos scored two goals in the first half Saturday afternoon to answer early Montgomery Academy scores and booted the go-ahead goal on a penalty kick for a hat trick as the Wildcats topped Montgomery Academy 4-3 for the Class 6A boys soccer state title.

“It’s every little kid’s dream to win state and especially score three goals,” said Barrientos after he was named the 6A tournament MVP. “It’s all about effort and who wants it more. This is what we prepared for.”

Top-ranked Fort Payne rallied for two goals in the second half and held on for a 4-3 victory over the No. 4 Eagles at Huntsville’s John Hunt Park.

“Hats off, obviously, to Montgomery Academy,” Fort Payne coach Michael Farmer said. “They came to play. The heat always plays a factor this time of year and I’m super proud of our guys. We live for this moment because we wear teams down. It was swinging punches back and forth and a great matchup.”

Fort Payne (26-2-2) was undefeated against all in-state opponents this season. The Wildcats fell behind 3-2 in the first half Saturday before earning two unanswered goals in the second to wrap up the program’s third state championship.

The Eagles jumped out ahead 1-0 in the eighth minute as Win Berry scored on an unassisted goal and took a 2-1 lead in the 16th on an unassisted goal from Brewer Welch off a free kick.

Fort Payne’s Barrientos answered Montgomery Academy’s first two goals with two of his own in the first half, assisted by Chris Rocha Luna each time. The Eagles were able to secure the halftime lead on another free kick from Lucas Rizzo.

Montgomery Academy outshot the Wildcats in the first half 12-9 and both goalkeepers were credited with three saves.

“Homewood was the first team to score against us in our playoff run and this team is equally talented,” Farmer said. Fort Payne topped Homewood 3-2 on Friday in the state semifinals.

Rafael Robles tied the match early in the second half, scoring on an assist from Barrientos in the 47th minute, and Barrientos secured his hat trick and a 4-3 lead for Fort Payne in the 58th on a penalty kick – ultimately deciding the match.

“I missed a couple (earlier) so I decided to switch it up in the finals,” Barrientos said. “When it’s most important, you got to try new things. It paid off. Since last year, I was going left and decided to go right in the state final.”

The Wildcats outshot Montgomery Academy 19-18, and Barrientos led the effort with seven shots – four on goal – followed by Joshua Guerra, Alexis Vega and George Guardia with three shots each. Robles scored the tying goal on his only shot of the match.

Both goalkeepers, Fort Payne’s Luis Barrientos Morales and Montgomery Academy’s Owen Johnson, finished with four saves off eight shots on goal.

“He (Morales) made saves in the first 15 minutes that kept us in the game,” Fort Payne assistant coach Tom Shanklin said. “Our defense took over in the second half and that’s what we train for early in the year. It paid off today.

Montgomery Academy (21-3-1) was led by Rizzo, who had five shots and three on goal. Berry and Welch had four shots each, the latter with three on goal and both with a goal. The Eagles have advanced to the state tournament three straight years under third-year coach Matheus Mello.

“As a 2A-size school, competing with these big schools that have great soccer programs and going head-to-head with them is something special,” Mello said. “This game could have gone both ways. We beat four or five 7A schools, lost to maybe two of them, and we didn’t lose to any 6A programs until today. Our guys showed they’re up for the challenge.”