Another tie means Dixie and Snow Canyon share first place

Written by Andy Griffin
April 10, 2018
Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Boys Soccer, St. George, Utah, Apr. 10, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Like a bad Father’s Day, the ties just keep coming in Region 9.

Desert Hills and Snow Canyon had plenty to play for at Warrior Field Tuesday night and the visiting Thunder saw a glimpse of what would have been a huge road win. But Snow Canyon got the equalizer and neither team could score in the two overtimes. That draw, coupled with Dixie’s win at Cedar, puts the Flyers and Warriors in a tie for first place with 18 points. D-Hills is three points behind, while Canyon View grabbed fourth place with a road win over Hurricane.

Here’s a report:

Desert Hills 1, Snow Canyon 1 (F/2OT)

The Thunder led midway through the second half when Ben Simister struck gold in the 18th minute. But Snow Canyon answered with freshman Sanders Esplin to tie the game just moments later and neither team could get one past the keepers in the two extra frames.

Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Boys Soccer, St. George, Utah, Apr. 10, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Snow Canyon coach Marc Wittwer was disappointed with the tie, but happy that his team responded after getting behind.

“Frustrating,” he said. “We played really well and controlled most of the game, just couldn’t finish. Great performance from our back line. Sanders Esplin, a freshman, stepped up big with that goal. I was proud of the boys for responding so quickly when we got down a goal.”

Goalkeepers Austin Mild (Snow Canyon) and Preston Hodges (Desert Hills) both played well in the match. As for the goals, Simister’s was his ninth of the season, which is No. 1 on the Thunder team. Esplin’s net-finder is his second of the season.

Snow Canyon, 5-0-5 overall and 5-0-3 in region play, is in a dead tie with Dixie for the region’s top spot. The Warriors next play on Friday in a home match against Hurricane. Desert Hills, 6-2-3 and 4-1-3, has 15 points and trails the two league leaders by three. The Thunder host Pine View Thursday night.

Dixie 2, Cedar 1

The Flyers pulled into a tie for first place with the road win, but it wasn’t easy.

Tauri Morales and Trey Hoskins came up with goals in the win in windy Cedar City. Kieran Atkin and the Dixie defense did the rest, allowing the Redmen just a single goal.

It’s the sixth goal of the year for Hoskins and Morales notched his fifth of the season.

Dixie has yet to taste defeat in 2018, improving to 7-0-3 overall and 5-0-3 in region play. The Flyers are at Canyon View Friday afternoon. Cedar, 1-9-0 and 0-8-0, is off until next Tuesday, when the Redmen will host Hurricane at 4 p.m.

Canyon View 3, Hurricane 2 (F/2OT)

The Falcons grabbed fourth place with the win on the road, with Trevan Wade striking the golden goal just two minutes into overtime.

It was 1-1 at halftime and 2-2 at the end of regulation in the evenly-matched affair. Canyon View’s first two goals came off the feet of Scott Sanders and Jose Larios. The Tigers got scores from Kainoa Murdock and Lucas Smith.

Sanders leads the Falcons with eight goals this season, while Larios notched his third of the year. For Hurricane, Murdock scored for the third time this year and Smith notched his very first goal.

Canyon View, 5-4-2 overall and 4-4-0 in region, passes Pine View with 12 points, two ahead of the Panthers for fourth place and a potential playoff spot. Hurricane, 1-9-0 and 1-6-0, is at Snow Canyon Friday.

Tuesday night’s results
Dixie 2, Cedar 1
Canyon View 3, Hurricane 2 (F/OT)
Desert Hills 1, Snow Canyon 1 (F/2OT)

Region 9 boys soccer standings (region, points, overall)
Dixie  5-0-3, 18, 7-0-3
Snow Canyon  5-0-3, 18, 5-0-5
Desert Hills  4-1-3, 15, 6-2-3
Canyon View  4-4-0, 12, 5-4-2
Pine View  3-3-1, 10, 4-6-1
Hurricane  1-6-0, 3, 1-9-0
Cedar  0-8-0, 0, 1-9-0

Upcoming games
Thursday
Pine View at Desert Hills, 7 p.m.
Friday
Dixie at Canyon View, 4 p.m.
Hurricane at Snow Canyon, 7 p.m.


Email: sports@stgnews.com

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, 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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