There was a lot of talent returning from last year’s team that played for a state championship, so there were high expectations for the Saint James girls soccer team entering the season. But it wasn’t as easy as it may have looked on paper.

“I think when we started off, we had to figure out our group,” senior forward Katie Brightwell said. “We started playing a new formation at the beginning of the season, which is something different for us, so that took time to get into, but I think everyone on the team adapted really well to it and really quickly, which we needed. Having a lot of the girls playing with us last year really helped us keep the momentum going from last season, plus most of the girls on the team have a really high soccer IQ.”

The Trojans would post three shutouts in their first three games and finished the year with four shutouts in postseason play, including a 3-0 win over Donoho that brought Saint James its first girls soccer championship.

“I think this year was the most fun because our team came together so much during the year,” Brightwell said. “We found a way to fight for one another, play for one another. This is one of the tightest teams I’ve been on in high school. So getting to the end goal with them and winning state with them was better than it would have been with people I didn’t really know.

“This team genuinely is one of the closest teams I’ve been on besides when I had my sister on the team with us.”

The team’s success mirrored that of Brightwell, who entered the year with 188 career goals after scoring 58 goals her junior season. By the time she completed the 2024 season, she held the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s record for career goals with 259.

“I probably won’t ever forget this season just because of how many things happened and how fun and successful we’ve been,” she said. “Going into the season, it was like, ‘if you can get this many, you’ll be number one.’ They had told me from the beginning of the season there was a chance. Nobody ever put pressure on me, really, but myself. But, finally getting there, there was a huge weight lifted off and an amazing feeling just to be able to say I hit my goal because that was obviously what I was striving for once I heard I could do it.

“And to score 71 in a season is insane. Last year, I had upper 50s, maybe 60 last year, so to get to 70 this year was huge. I didn’t even realize I hit 70 until they told me afterwards.”

Brightwell was the overwhelming choice of the coaches to repeat as the Capital City Conference Player of the Year for girls soccer. Her father, Saint James coach Charlie Brightwell, was the Capital City Conference Coach of the Year.

“We’ve always told her to have that little chip on her shoulder, that when you walk off a field, no matter who we play, whether they’re ranked number one in the country or 200 in the country, be a top three kid leaving the field,” Charlie Brightwell said. “Walk off the field knowing that you were as good as anybody and you were a top three kid. And if you weren’t, then that gives you something to go back and work on.

“She’s not someone that looking for the spotlight. The spotlight finds her, obviously, with her records, but she’s a kid that’s truly always been about team. Your natural flair will show when it needs to.”

ALL CAPITAL CITY CONFERENCE

GIRLS SOCCER TEAM

Forward -- Mary Elizabeth Cole, 5-0, Jr., Montgomery Academy

Forward -- Katie Brightwell, 5-6, Sr., Saint James

Forward -- Hastings Avant, 5-5, Sr., Trinity

Forward -- Eryn Owens, 5-6, Jr., Catholic

Midfielder -- Sophia Cho, 5-6, Jr., Montgomery Academy

Midfielder -- Ella Wiswall, 5-5, Sr., Trinity

Midfielder -- Kerstin Daniels, 5-8, Jr., Montgomery Academy

Midfielder -- Mary Grace Hixon, 4-10, Sr., Saint James

Defender -- Caroline Waller, 5-9, Jr., Montgomery Academy

Defender -- Hope McCain, 5-4, Sr., Saint James

Defender -- Hannah McCain, 5-2, Sr., Saint James

Defender -- Jehle Dickson, 5-4, Sr., Catholic

Goalkeeper -- Katie Irving, 5-7, Sr., Saint James

PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- Katie Brightwell, Saint James

COACH OF THE YEAR -- Charlie Brightwell, Saint James

Honorable Mention: Natalie Barton, 5-8, F, Fr., Saint James; Kayla Bledsoe, 5-2, D, So., Montgomery Academy; KK Corley, 5-8, D, So., Saint James; Ava Crimi, 5-0, MF, So., Catholic; Marcy Gregory, 5-7, GK, Sr., Alabama Christian; Arden Horne, 5-5, GK, Jr., Montgomery Academy; Leah Johnson, 5-4, D, So., Alabama Christian; Chloe Jordan, 5-5, MF, Jr., Alabama Christian; Ragan King, 5-6, MF, Fr., Saint James; Ivey Kocher, 5-4, D, Sr., Alabama Christian; Presley Lewis, 5-6, F, Sr., Alabama Christian; Joanna Marlow, 5-8, F, Jr., Catholic; Rebi McLemore, 5-4, D, 8th, Trinity; Sana Shuford, 5-6, MF, Jr., Saint James; Ella Hardington Pemberton, 5-2, F, 8th, Montgomery Academy; Anna Russo, 5-8, MF, Jr., Catholic; Kaitlyn Sutton, 5-3, MF, Jr., Alabama Christian; Hailey Vance, 5-4, F, Sr., Saint James; Heather Walski, 5-6, GK, Jr., Catholic.