By Sports Editor Andrew Simonson
Taylor Leib was one of the most distinguished and successful players in the history of the Briarwood Christian Lions going into her senior year. In addition to winning Metro Player of the Year and North-South MVP in 2024, the Clemson recruit has already earned two consecutive Shelby County Golden Boots, Super All-State, 6A All-State, All-Metro, and All-County First Team awards.
But despite all of her accomplishments on her own, she remained lacking a team prize.
Every season Leib played for the Lions improved; they advanced to the Final Four in 2023 and then to the state championship game in 2024. However, both times, she and Briarwood were disappointed since they missed out on a state championship.
The Lions were focused on winning a state championship because the program’s future stars and longtime playmakers were coming together in the ideal way. However, Leib would have to perform like the goal-scoring prodigy she usually has in order to accomplish it.
In order to lead Briarwood to a historic tenth state championship in program history and her first in her career, Leib rose to the occasion and demonstrated a new level of offensive playmaking. She received one of the final individual awards she had not yet received, Shelby County Player of the Year, thanks to her performances on the path to that coveted team championship.
Leib often created risky opportunities when the ball landed at her feet, just as she had done throughout her career. She usually had success when she was in possession of the attacking third, and whether she made her initial touch from outside the 18 or in the eight-yard box, that straightforward tactic paid off.
As in previous years, her nearly infinite range produced some fireworks, including some crucial goals in area play, thus some of her biggest goals actually came outside the penalty box.
Ashna Mehra of Indian Springs scored 45 goals in Class 5A, which earned her the Shelby County Golden Boot for the third consecutive year. Despite this, Leib finished with an average of 1.81 goals per appearance, scoring 40 goals in 22 games.
Furthermore, all but three of them resulted from open play, highlighting her capacity to create opportunities during play. Her 40 goals ranked second in the county, only surpassed by Mehra.
Many of the goals occurred during pivotal stages in the season, such as a brace against Northridge in the quarterfinals, a hat trick against Helena in the first round, and another hat trick in a victory over Spanish Fort in the Final Four.
She also scored crucial goals from penalty kicks in the Lions’ two playoff shootout victories against Spain Park in the second round and their resounding triumph against Mountain Brook in the championship game.
The trophy that Briarwood received was not the only reason the victory was significant. The Lions’ victory over a Spartan team that dominated them in the 2024 state final was also a kind of retaliation.
Leib wasn’t the only player that helped the Lions score goals and score points during their championship run. She found other offensive pieces, including her longtime running companion Brooklyn Barnett and sophomore rising star Taylor Matthews, and finished the season with 12 assists.
Because of her dominance, Leib won the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year award for girls soccer, which is the top accolade in the state, and was named Birmingham’s Metro Player of the Year twice.
Furthermore, Leib was by no means the only player who deserved the honor. Throughout the regular season, Reese Oldfield of Spain Park appeared to be the most dominant attacker in the state thanks to her lightning-fast speed and ability to create plays. Oak Mountain’s Marley Brown was among the state’s most formidable defenders, and Thompson’s Dia Montiel-Duenas and Springs Mehra took full advantage of their regular goal-scoring opportunities.
But Leib had the advantage to finish high school with the county’s top accolade because of her steady dominance as the greatest player on the best team in the county.
