3A soccer playoffs: Hot keeper helps Ridgeline stun Desert Hills

Written by Andy Griffin
October 12, 2016
Desert Hills vs. Ridgeline, Girls Soccer 3A State Playoffs, St. George, Utah, Oct. 12, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – A heroic effort by Ridgeline goalkeeper Makaylee Tenhoeve sent shockwaves through the 3A girls soccer playoffs as the Riverhawks defeated Desert Hills in a penalty kick shootout Wednesday evening.

desert-hills-logo“The best team doesn’t always win,” said Thunder coach Benji Nelson. “We dominated, had plenty of shots, but their keeper came up big very single time. It was just inches, some of them, but that’s what’s tough about soccer – there’s no guarantee the best team’s going to win.”

D-Hills, the co-region 9 champion and No. 1 seed from southern Utah, kept possession and control of the ball for most of the game and outshot the Riverhawks 15-2. In fact, at one point in the second half, the Thunder had the ball on the offensive half of the field for more than 21 minutes straight.

Ridgeline goalkeeper Makaylee Tenhoeve punches the ball away in the first half, Desert Hills vs. Ridgeline, Girls Soccer 3A State Playoffs, St. George, Utah, Oct. 12, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Ridgeline goalkeeper Makaylee Tenhoeve (light blue) punches the ball away in the first half, Desert Hills vs. Ridgeline, Girls Soccer 3A State Playoffs, St. George, Utah, Oct. 12, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

But every shot Desert Hills took, whether it was a line-drive screamer from Jess Mathis or a looping bender from Kodee Bracken, was turned back by the Ridgeline sophomore goalie, who recorded her sixth shutout of the season.

“I just tried to stay calm and keep the emotion out of it,” Tenhoeve said. “I’m going to work my butt off for my (offensive) teammates just like they work their butts off for me.”

Tenhoeve, who plays for the Salt Lake club team Avalanche during the off-season, said she has been in the situation many times.

“I’ve been through a lot of games,” she said. “Mentally strong is the big thing.”

With neither team able to break through in regulation or the two 10-minute overtimes, it came down to penalty kicks and with Tenhoeve playing lights out, the advantage quickly switched to the visitors from Cache Valley.

RHS’s Kattelyn Everton started it off and got a hard roller past DH goalkeeper Brittney Moore to make it 1-0.

Tenhoeve then blocked Brecken Dalley’s shot and, after a miss by Ridgeline, turned away a hard roller by Drew Morby.

Desert Hills' Kodee Bracken (3), Desert Hills vs. Ridgeline, Girls Soccer 3A State Playoffs, St. George, Utah, Oct. 12, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills’ Kodee Bracken (3), Desert Hills vs. Ridgeline, Girls Soccer 3A State Playoffs, St. George, Utah, Oct. 12, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

A third block on a high kick by Morgan Myers, followed by a goal by Ridgeline’s Abbie Kotter, made it 2-0. Mathis scored to make it 2-1 with one PK left for each team.

That’s when Ridgeline coach Dan Christensen put Tenhoeve out front to try her own PK against Thunder keeper Moore. Her strike was strong and hard and exploded for the game-winner on the lower right edge of the net.

“Mac (Tenhoeve) was unbelievable today,” Christensen said. “She’s actually been playing amazing the last five or six games, so we’re not surprised, but she was just spectacular. Our whole defense played well.”

The Riverhawks advance to the state 3A quarterfinals and will play at Tooele at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Desert Hills, which went 7-3-0 in Region 9, will end its season with a 10-5-2 overall record.

3A Quarterfinals (Saturday)
Ridgeline (6-8-2) at Tooele (11-4-2), 1 p.m.
Stansbury (12-4-1) at Logan (12-2-1), 1 p.m.
Snow Canyon (11-6-1) at Canyon View (9-7-0), 1 p.m.
Juan Diego (10-5-1) at Park City (11-6-0), 1 p.m.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, 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.

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