Desert Hills' Kenzie Done fights for a loose ball, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
ST. GEORGE — Moral victories can be nice, but Desert Hills coach Benji Nelson was having none of that after his team lost a home match 2-1 Wednesday night against Syracuse.
“I’m very proud of our effort and the way we played, especially in the second half,” he said. “But we just need to finish.”
The Titans led 2-1 at intermission, with both goals coming off in succession off the foot of Kylie — the first was Kylie Harris and the second was Kylie Johnson.
Brooklyn Lott pulled the Thunder to within 2-1 before halftime, but that’s how the score would stay, despite an aggressive second half by the Lady Thunder.
“Syracuse only crossed our half six times in the second half,” Nelson said. “We had so many chances to score and played really well. But we didn’t finish the goal. The second half we played great.”
The aggressive preseason schedule has seen Desert Hills face two 5As and one 4A school and though the Thunder are 0-2-1, each game has been close. The gauntlet continues Saturday as DH travels to face Westlake, another 5A foe, for a 10 a.m. kickoff.
“We’re very young, with just two seniors,” Nelson said. “But we have a lot of young talent and we’re learning a lot this preseason. We’ve just got to stay positive and come out every game and perform.”
Elsewhere, defending state champ Cedar improved to 2-2 with a 2-0 shutout of Spanish Fork on Tuesday night.
The Lady Reds continues to get strong play from Holly Carpenter and Julia Hunt as they each notched a goal. It is Carpenter’s fourth and Hunt’s third of the young season.
Megan Giddings got the shutout between the posts, the first of her varsity career. Cedar next plays at Parowan Sept. 4.
Thunder Striker Brook Lott takes on the Syracuse goalkeeper, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Hadley Cowan (4) reaches for a ball, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Brecken Dalley (11) chases down a loose ball for the Thunder, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Jessica Mathis (13) launches a pass, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Thunder defender Hannah Morby (7), Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
The Thunder celebrate Brook Lott's (12) first half goal, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Thunder goalkeeper Brittney Moore makes a stop, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
A Syracuse player with a header, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
The Thunder defenders collapse on a Syracuse player, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Nicole Del Toro (3) controls the ball for the Thunder, Desert Hills vs. Syracuse, Girls Soccer, St. George, Utah, Aug. 19, 2015, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Griffin has been in sports media since 1989 and has covered BYU, Utah State and the Utah Jazz as well as all sports in southern Utah. A journalism graduate of USU, Andy has carried on a dual career as both a sports writer and a sports broadcaster and has been heard around the country. He has also been published in USA Today, Sport magazine, The Sporting News, Fairways magazine, the Los Angeles Times and locally in the Deseret News, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Spectrum. Andy was “The Voice of Region 9 sports,” for many years. He also hosted a daily sports talk show for three years called AG in the a.m.
Andy has been married to his college sweetheart Shelly for 28 years and has five children ages 13 to 25.