SANDY — Dixie and Snow Canyon are about as even as two teams can get. The rival split a pair of games this year and ended up sharing the Region 9 title with identical 9-1-0 records. But there’s only one way they’ll be able to break that tie.
Dixie battles undefeated Juan Diego and Snow Canyon squares off with Logan in the state semifinals Friday at Alta High School. The winners will meet Saturday in the state championship.
For the Warriors, who play the Grizzlies at 4 p.m. in the first semifinal Friday, coach Marc Wittwer said his team is playing topnotch soccer right now.
“They played as good as they have all season,” coach Marc Wittwer said of his Warriors. “They were sharing the ball and using everyone on the field.”
SC’s only blemish since mid-March is a 1-0 rain-shortened loss to Dixie. The Warriors had won 10 straight before that game and have won two in a row since, outscoring playoff opponents 14-1 in two matches.
Logan, meanwhile, is 7-2-1 in its last 10 matches. The Grizzlies gave high-flying Juan Diego one of its only close matches of the year, a 3-2 contest in Logan.
Angel Muniz leads Snow Canyon with 20 goals (in 19 games) and Quinn Hargis has five shutouts in goal this year.
Logan is led by Jonny Guadarama and Joseph Kiflam, who have six goals each.
Last season, Dixie eliminated Juan Diego 2-1 in the state semifinals. The Flyers, who have won the state championship three of the last four seasons, have a seven-game winning streak and are 12-1 since mid-March. Dixie beat Region 10 champ Stansbury 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
The Flyers are led by Jose Morales, who has 10 goals this season. Keeper Ethan Poulton has three shutouts.
The Soaring Eagle have an impressive resume, with a record of 16-0-0. They’ve done it mostly with defense, picking up 12 shutouts in those 16 wins. In fact, Juan Diego has only allowed five goals all season long.
The Soaring Eagle are led by Jered Mariani with 16 goals and Ruben Castillo with 15. Keeper Martin Kelly has 9.5 shutouts.
Friday’s winners will meet Saturday at 11 a.m. at Alta High School for the 3A state championship.
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