Region 9 soccer: Thunder, Warriors earn share of region title

Written by Bob Hudson
October 6, 2016
Desert Hills vs. Pine View, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Overcoming some early and late season struggles, respectively, Desert Hills and Snow Canyon shared the Region 9 girls soccer championship on Thursday.

The Thunder beat Pine View 4-2 and the Warriors beat Dixie 2-1. Both teams finished 7-3 in league play. Cedar beat Hurricane 2-1 to finish third with the Tigers fourth. The top four teams play in the state Class 3A playoffs next Wednesday with Ridgeline at Desert Hills, Morgan at Snow Canyon, Cedar at Juan Diego and Hurricane at Logan.

Desert Hills 4, Pine View 2

Kodee Bracken scored the go-ahead goal off a Drew Morby assist with six minutes left in the game after the Panthers had tied it on Aubrey Day’s penalty kick with 14 minutes to go.

desert-hills-logopine-view-logoKylee Westoff got the Thunder’s first goal off a Jessica Mathis assist with 15 minutes left in the first half. Makayla Lewis scored off a Hannah Morby assist three minutes later.

Pine View didn’t have any shots in the first half. But McKenna Plumb tied things with a goal with 16 minutes remaining in the game.

“We’re region champs,” noted DH coach Benji Nelson. “We came back after losing our first two games. At the beginning of the season, we got lackadaisical and selfish and you don’t play as a team. In tonight’s game, we started fast but then got lackadaisical.

Desert Hills' Brittney Moore (1) makes a save, Desert Hills vs. Pine View, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills’ Brittney Moore (1) makes a save, Desert Hills vs. Pine View, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Oct. 6, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“Kylee Westoff played a great game; Tania Crosby sparked us and Makayla Lewis had a great game, too. Our first two goals were because of her creating opportunities.”

“It’s super-exciting to come back from our slow start and achieve our first goal,” Westoff said. “We live by what we preach – Thunder family. It’s the main reason we have some success.”

The Thunder won their last five games by a combined score of 16-2, with four shutouts, including Tuesday’s home win vs. Snow Canyon that tied the two teams up at the top of the standings.

Desert Hills gets the top seed based on its sweep of the next highest-rated team in the region, Cedar (Snow Canyon split with the Lady Reds). The Ridgeline (5-8-2) vs. DH first-round game Wednesday will be at 4 p.m. at DHHS.

Pine View finishes the year with a 3-12-0 record.

Snow Canyon 2, Dixie 1

Heidi Smith and Christian Vangils scored for the Warriors. Starlee Woodbury had the Flyers goal.

snow-canyon-logodixie-logo“It’s been a roller-coaster season,” said SC coach Kenny Kunde. “We had opportunities to put (the region title) away last week but we weren’t able to. It’s exciting to have the opportunity for some home playoff games.”

Snow Canyon (10-6-1) gets the No. 2 seed from the region and plays Morgan (10-4-1) at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Dixie finishes the year with a 7-6-1 overall record (3-6-1 in region).

Cedar 2, Hurricane 1

Holly Carpenter scored the game-winner with two minutes left after Julia Hunt was taken down in the penalty box. Rachel Hunt scored Cedar’s other goal. Jaden Langford scored for the Tigers.

cedar-logohurricane-logo“We’ve had a good second half of the season,” said Cedar’s Scott Kamachi. “We hope to make another run (last year Cedar finished second at state.)”

Both teams are in the playoffs. The Lady Reds (8-6, 6-4) play at Juan Diego (9-6-1) and Hurricane (8-7-1, 4-5-1) plays at 12-2-1 Logan, the defending state champion.

Region 9 Girls Soccer Standings (Final)
Team  Region (pts) overall
Desert Hills 7-3-0 (21) 10-4-2
Snow Canyon 7-3-0 (21) 9-6-1
Cedar 6-4-0 (18) 7-6-0
Hurricane 4-5-1 (13) 8-7-1
Dixie 3-6-1 (10) 7-6-1
Pine View 2-8-0 (6) 3-12-0

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob Hudson is a graduate of Brigham Young University. He has been a sportswriter in central and southern Utah and Southeast Idaho. He has also worked as a news editor and managing editor. He has lived in St. George since 2000.

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