Hartselle High School’s soccer teams swept Cullman on the road Thursday night, as the varsity teams took steps closer to playoff berths.

The varsity girls team won 5-0, improving to 3-0 in the section. They can clinch the section championship with a win over Cullman on April 16.

Alecia Timm started the scoring in the seventh minute after Hanna Brown was awarded a penalty kick. Taryn Dershem put in the second goal in the 39th minute off a pass from Amber Hicks.

At the beginning of the second half, Sarah Horner broke through to make it 3-0. Two minutes later, in the 45th minute, Cady Hensley crashed the goal to score off an assist from Leah Roberts. Leah Roberts tacked on the fifth goal  in the 60th minute.

Keepers Chasity Golden and Hanna Brown earned the Tigers’ fifth shutout of the year.

The varsity boys won an emotional 2-1.

After a scoreless first half, Cullman scored first in the 55th minute.

Ten minutes later, Will Payne scored off a well-placed shot from midfield to tie the score at 1-1.

After a series of yellow cards and one red card that left Hartselle with only 10 players, Cullman pressed high up the field for the winning goal, but Hartselle maintained solid defense and held the Bearcats scoreless.

The Tigers counter-attacked up the right wing to Ian Cummins, who buried the winning goal with two minutes left to play.

Kyle St. Amand had 12 saves in goal in the 2-1 win. The Tigers are now 5-1 for first place in section play with only two section matches remaining.

Hartselle can clinch the section championship with a win at home over Walker on April 12 at 6:30 p.m. and a loss by Cullman, which is 2-2 with four section games remaining.

The junior varsity boys also won a tight game 1-0. Thanks to a perfectly-weighted through-ball by Austin Davis, Jack Waterman scored the winning goal with eight minutes left to play. Austin Davis and Garrett Marsh combined in goal for the shut out.