Region 9 soccer: Warriors get golden goal to defeat Desert Hills

Written by Bob Hudson
September 8, 2016
Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Sept. 8, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Heidi Smith drilled the winning goal with 1:17 left in overtime to lift Snow Canyon to a 2-1 win over Desert Hills in Region 9 girls’ soccer on Thursday.

snow-canyon-logodesert-hills-logoSmith took a pass from Ashley Brindley and blasted her shot past Brittany Moore as the Warriors improved to 2-0, 5-3-1.

“I saw it was clear and I knew it was going in,” Smith said of her shot. “Tonight I feel like our team wanted it. I’m so happy I was able to play with them.”

Desert Hills' Elly Williams (19), Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Sept. 8, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills’ Elly Williams (19), Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Sept. 8, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Snow Canyon dominated the first 20 minutes of play, but couldn’t score. The Warriors missed an opportunity when the Thunder’s Moore stopped a penalty kick from Jacquel Bozarth in the 28th minute of the first half.

“We had good possessions the first 20 minutes, but were deflated after we missed the penalty kick,” said SC coach Kenny Kunde. “At halftime, we had a little talk and fixed a few things.”

Desert Hills (0-2, 3-3-2) took a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute of the first half when Makayla Lewis booted in a rebound off the goal crossbar.

Snow Canyon got the equalizer in the 35th minute of the second half on Smith’s first goal of the night.

“We just put ourselves in a good position,” Kunde said of the region race. ”Having a little bit of a lead is good as balanced as this region is.”

The two teams played a lot of the game in the middle of the field, but both the Thunder’s Moore and Warrior goalkeeper Megan Rodgers made several key saves.

Snow Canyon's Heidi Smith (7) celebrates her goal, Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Sept. 8, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Snow Canyon’s Heidi Smith (7) celebrates her goal, Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Sept. 8, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

None was more key than Rodgers’ save off a Brooklyn Lott shot a few seconds before Smith put in her game-winner.

“Our keeper made a fantastic save on the last play before our goal,” Kunde said. “Megan played a great game.”

Kunde noted that both Smith and Rodgers are freshmen who have been accepted by their older teammates and have made smooth transitions into their roles on the team.

Smith has scored seven goals in nine games this season.

Cedar 6, Pine View 2

Rachel Hunt and Julia Hunt each scored a pair of goals as the Lady Reds blasted the Panthers. Holly Carpenter and Lindsey Robinson each added a goal.

“We switched some things around from Tuesday night and got better possessions,” said Cedar coach Scott Kamachi. “In the first half, we didn’t do much, which was frustrating. But in the second half, we got more people into the box and focused on getting more goals.”

Region 9 soccer standings (team, reg record, pts, overall)
Snow Canyon 2-0-0, 6, 5-3-1
Dixie 1-0-1, 4, 5-0-1
Hurricane 1-0-1, 4, 5-2-1
Cedar 1-1-0, 3, 3-3-0
Desert Hills 0-2-0, 0, 3-3-2
Pine View 0-2-0, 0, 1-6-0

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