There were plenty of question marks ahead of this season for the Brookhaven Academy girls’ soccer team.

The squad won its district last season but graduated its starting goalkeeper and two of the top three scorers on the team.

Second year head coach Alex Brown showed his program is ready to reload and not rebuild by putting together a 14-4-1 record and a district championship for the second straight year.

For his coaching acumen, Brown has been named The Daily Leader All-Area Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year.

The successful season came off a 13-5-1 record for Brown’s squad in his first year at the school. Coaching both the boys and girls teams at BA, he has a combined record of 56-17-2 for the two programs over the last two seasons. He was named All-Area Boys’ Coach of the Year last season after BA went 18-2.

The season wasn’t without its teachable moments this year for Brown and his crew.

There was some surprise early in the district race when Cathedral beat the Cougars 4-1 in Natchez.

BA rebounded though to get a 2-0 win against Cathedral in the second meeting between the schools. The team also split with Laurel Christian and Hattiesburg Homeschool during the regular season.

For a second straight year, the Cougars saw their season ended by Madison St. Joe in the first round of the MAIS playoffs.

Of note, St. Joe will move to a larger classification next season, which is good news for Brown and his program.

Seniors playing this season for BA included Kate LeBlanc, Izzy Nelson, Emma Price, Sara Rodgers Smith and Kyla Armistad. Juniors on the squad were Anna Beth Chalk, Carmen Lambert, Reagan Fortenberry, Ramsey Brown and Mallory Martin. Sophomores this season included Ainsley Orr, Chloe Nelson, Matti Claire Smith and Ava Calcote. Freshmen on the team were Karen Hernandez and Olivia Case. The 8th grade class was made up of Livi Fortenberry, Miranda Brister and Lola Strickland while Cammille Calcote was the lone 7th grader on the team.