The Andalusia High School soccer team had another strong year before falling to Montgomery Catholic in the third round of the Class 4A-5A state tournament.

“I was really proud of the way this team competed this year,” Andalusia head soccer coach Jarrett Williamson said. “After making it to the Final Four last year, and then not getting any recognition in the rankings this year, this team played with a chip on their shoulder.”

Williamson said the first of the year started slow, but the Bulldogs quickly picked up the pace.

“At first, it took a little bit to get things going,” Williamson said. “We had a lot of new faces that we knew would be able to contribute, but it took a little while to figure out where the pieces of the puzzle needed to go.”

The turning point of the season came in a tournament hosted by Montgomery Catholic, Williamson said.

“The team just really started clicking at that point,” Williamson said. “The kids really bonded that day and battled their hearts out for each other.”

Not long after that tournament, Williamson said the Bulldogs got into a groove.

“We knew coming into this season that our region was going to be very competitive,” Williamson said. “We won all of our region games, but we weren’t scoring like we could. Right after spring break, we got our legs back under us and started rolling. We then scored nine, nine and seven goals in our next three region games.”

In the first round of the playoffs, the Bulldogs knocked off No. 9-ranked Faith Academy.

“The kids had a chip on their shoulder,” Williamson said. “They are ranked No. 9 and we aren’t even ranked. We beat them 9-0 and felt like we had them game in hand pretty early.”

Williamson said he was proud of this year’s team.

“I can’t say enough about this team,” Williamson said. “I’m very proud of them. I look forward to the kids that come back next year and will miss the eight seniors that graduated .”