Varsity soccer season is underway at Russellville High School, and both the boys and girls are looking to build on their success of the past season.

The RHS boys started the 2020 season with a win over Madison Academy by an 11-1 score Feb. 27. The Golden Tigers, led by head coach Trey Stanford, had the lead at the half over the Mustangs by a 9-0 total before finishing off the victory.

Next, Russellville defeated the Hamilton Aggies on two separate occasions.  The first meeting was at Hamilton, with RHS taking the victory by a 10-0 score Feb. 28 at Sargeant Stadium. For the second-straight match, Russellville had a large lead at the half. This time, the Golden Tigers were up 8-0 at the break.

March 3, the Aggies visited RHS, and Hamilton lost this time by a 9-1 final score. With the two wins over HHS, Russellville improved their record in Class 4A-5A Area 14 to 2-0.

March 5 the 7A Florence Falcons visited RHS, and the teams played to a 1-1 tie. Both squads were scoreless in the first half, with Russellville getting a good shot on goal with 2:30 remaining in the half.

Juan Cano gave Russellville the 1-0 lead with 31:14 remaining in the match when he scored on the Florence defense; however, the Falcons evened the score with a goal with 25:13 remaining in the contest.

RHS had back-to-back scoring chances with just over 10 minutes remaining, but the two teams remained scoreless the rest of the way, with Russellville goalkeeper Daniel Martinez playing well.

“It was just a great, solid, hard soccer match,” Stanford said after the contest with Florence. “It’s just always going to be a battle when Russellville and Florence play soccer against each other.”

The future, Stanford added, looks to be bright for the RHS team. “We’re excited, and we’ve got a lot of young talent,” Stanford shared. “Most of our kids starting right now are 10th-graders, so we really have a chance to make a run at it for a couple of years.”

The Russellville girls have started the 2020 season with a 3-2 record, and they are also 2-0 in area play.

The season began with an 8-0 loss at Florence Feb. 15, but the girls answered with a win at Mars Hill Bible School Feb. 20 by a 2-1 score. Madison Academy defeated RHS 1-0 before the Lady Golden Tigers took down Hamilton Feb. 28 by a 3-1 final on the road. Russellville followed that up with a win at home March 3 over the Lady Aggies by a 4-3 score.

The girls’ team is looking to return to the playoffs this season and have area matches remaining with Haleyville, West Morgan and Danville.