ST. GEORGE – Snow Canyon scored three unanswered goals in the second half and stunned Dixie 3-1 Tuesday night, clinching the No. 1 seed and at least a share of the Region 9 title along the way.

The Warriors close out the regular season Friday with a match at Canyon View and need a win or a tie to clinch the region championship.

Meanwhile, Pine View jumped ahead of idle Canyon View in the race for the last playoff spot by dowsing Cedar 3-1. Desert Hills also won, solidifying its spot as the region’s No. 3 seed for the playoffs.

There are four matches left in the regular season, with Cedar and Canyon View playing a weather makeup game Wednesday at 4 p.m. at CVHS and then Friday’s regularly scheduled contests closing things out. The Warriors are the No. 1 seed regardless of the results of their Friday match vs. Canyon View. A win, however, would clinch the region title outright. Dixie, which has a bye Friday, is locked into the No. 2 seed. Desert Hills is at Cedar, but the Thunder are locked in as the three seed regardless of the result. Pine View can clinch the four seed with a Friday win at Hurricane or a pair of Canyon View losses.

The entire Region 9 picture and remaining schedule is at the bottom of this story.

Snow Canyon 3, Dixie 1

Whether it was senior night jitters or just a good start by Dixie, the Flyers had the home-standing Warriors shutout and frustrated throughout the first half. But once Snow Canyon got it going, the game turned in a hurry.

During about a 12-minute stretch in the second half, SC turned that 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead and rode it to a No. 1-seed clinching win.

“Our first goal came when Jacob Wittwer made a great effort and won a ball at midfield that he had no business winning to start the counter attack,” Warrior coach Marc Wittwer said. “After a couple of passes, Yetzel Carrillo then fed it into Sanders (Esplin) coming down the left side and Sanders fired it in low and hard. Once we got one in, the other two came quickly (in about a 10 minute span) as our boys fed off their momentum. I was proud that we responded well after getting down early in the game.”

Dillon Hoskins got the assist on that first goal, then Esplin scored again on a rebound effort to make it 2-1. Richard Vichi then drew a foul in the goal box and teammate Yetzel Carrillo made it count with a penalty kick goal to ice the game for Snow Canyon.

“It was senior night and the seniors stepped up big,” Wittwer said. “Alex Tholen and Richard (Vichi) and Sean Keatch held the back line really well. Yetzel, Cole Trotter, and Cameron Morris controlled the midfield and we truly played as a team in the second half.”

Snow Canyon is still undefeated on the season, improving to 8-0-5 overall and 8-0-3 in region play. The Warriors can clinch the region title outright with a win at Canyon View Friday.

Dixie, which suffered its first loss of the season and is now 10-1-3 overall and 8-1-3 in region, got its lone goal from Tauri Morales on a free kick in the first half. The Flyers are off until their first-round home playoff game scheduled for May 5.

Desert Hills 8, Hurricane 0

The Thunder improve to 8-2-4 overall and 6-1-4 in region with the mercy-rule win over the Tigers.

Walker Heaton had two goals and Desert Hills got single scores from Ben Simister, Brock Parry, Bryant McCoy, Colby Hendrix, Jake Barton, and Kelton Holt. Simister leads the team with 13 goals, while Heaton notched his 10th and 11th of the year.

Preston Hodges picked up the shutout in goal, his seventh of the season.

The Thunder are 5-0-4 in their last nine matches. D-Hills is at Cedar on Friday afternoon.

Hurricane drops to 1-13-0 and 1-10-0 and will finish the season Friday night with a home match against Pine View.

Pine View 3, Cedar 1

The Panthers broke a two-game losing streak with the home win against the Redmen.

“It was an emotional evening as we recognized the seniors on Senior Night tonight,” PV coach Ryan Duckworth said. “Though it’s only been two years of coaching these players, I find great joy in seeing how they have developed as athletes, but more specifically as young men. I look forward to following them throughout their lives and watching their continued successes.

“It was also good to see the seniors (and their teammates) get a win on home field one last time this season.”

The Panthers. 5-8-2 overall and 4-5-2 in region, get the season sweep of Cedar with the win, and put themselves in a position to grab a playoff spot with just a Friday match at Hurricane remaining.

“We still have one more game left in the regular season and tomorrow we get back to business preparing for Friday’s match,” Duckworth said.

The coach also praised his fanbase for the support, saying, “A shout out to all the parents, students and fans who came out to support us tonight – thank you for your support!”

Cedar, 1-9-0 and 2-10-0, plays at Canyon View Wednesday in a weather make-up game and then hosts Desert Hills Friday afternoon.

Tuesday’s results
Snow Canyon 3, Dixie 1
Desert Hills 8, Hurricane 0
Pine View 3, Cedar 1

Region 9 boys soccer standings (region, points, overall)
Snow Canyon  8-0-3, 27, 8-0-5
Dixie  8-1-3, 27, 10-1-3
Desert Hills  6-1-4, 22, 8-2-4
Pine View  4-5-2, 14, 5-8-2
Canyon View  4-6-0, 12, 5-6-2
Cedar  1-9-0, 3, 2-10-0
Hurricane  1-10-0, 3, 1-13-0

Wednesday’s match
Cedar at Canyon View, 4 p.m.

Friday’s matches
Desert Hills at Cedar, 4 p.m.
Snow Canyon at Canyon View, 4 p.m.
Pine View at Hurricane, 7 p.m.

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