Region 9 girls soccer recap: Preseason wraps up, teams prepare for region play

Written by Jeff Richards
August 15, 2020
Kayley Wardle of Crimson Cliffs kicks the ball against Skyridge, Washington City, Utah, Aug. 14, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Stan Plewe, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Region 9 girls soccer preseason schedule wrapped up Saturday, with Pine View beating Lehi in overtime.

Next Thursday, all eight Region 9 teams will start playing each other as the regular season gets under way. Following are short recaps of the past week’s worth of action:

Pine View 3, Lehi 2

At Lehi, the Pine View Panthers defeated the Pioneers 3-2 on Saturday morning, with Emma Lloyd scoring the game-winner in overtime. Earlier in the game, the Panthers had goals from Katelyn Leavitt and Mairen Maclellan.

“Our goalies and defense did outstanding,” said Pine View head coach Sam Johnston, whose Panthers improved to 2-0 in preseason play.

Pine View will open the Region 9 schedule at Cedar High next Thursday at 4 p.m.

Westlake 5, Crimson Cliffs 2 | Crimson Cliffs 1, Skyridge 0

As one of the three host schools of the St. George Tournament that ran from Aug. 12-14, Crimson Cliffs went 1-1, losing to Westlake, 5-2, on Wednesday and defeating Skyridge, 1-0, on Friday.

Against Westlake, a 6A school, Crimson Cliffs junior Jantzyn Losee took advantage of a goalkeeper miscue and scored the first goal of her career just two minutes into the game, and added another score about four minutes later to give the Mustangs an early 2-0 lead.

Westlake scored its first goal about five minutes before halftime on a defensive mistake, as a Crimson defender attempted to clear the ball and instead had it ricochet off a teammate the Thunder’s Mattyn Sommers from Westlake took it in for the score. Although Crimson Cliffs still had a 2-1 halftime lead, Westlake added three more goals in the second half to win 5-2.

“The game was much closer than the final score,” said Crimson Cliffs head coach Andy Yergensen. “Despite many opportunities, Crimson couldn’t find the net the rest of the way. Meanwhile the visiting Thunder picked apart the Mustang defense and scored on another sent ball and then from distance twice to finish the scoring.”

Karmyn Brown of Crimson Cliffs prepares to kick the ball against Skyridge, Washington City, Utah, Aug. 14, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Stan Plewe, St. George News

“We are a young team and showed we aren’t quite ready to keep with the bigger, faster and more technical teams for a full 80 minutes,” Yergensen added.

Two days later, the Mustangs bounced back with a 1-0 shutout win over Skyridge, as Kate Young scored the only goal of the game, an unassisted score six minutes into the second half.

“Kate Young jumped a passing lane and sprinted past the defense and slotted the ball into the net,” Yergensen said, noting that goalkeeper Ellie Nielsen and the Mustang defense held strong for the shutout.

“Despite many back-and-forth chances both defenses held firm,” he said. “Skyridge played a more possession style strategy as they out-possessed the Mustangs for the majority of the game. Crimson settled into a defend and counter-attack style that resulted in a few opportunities as Skyridge pressed the issue in an attempt to even the score.”

Crimson Cliffs heads into Region 9 play with a 1-1 preseason record. The Mustangs will host Desert Hills at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday.

Skyridge 4, Desert Hills 1 | Westlake 4, Desert Hills 2

The Desert Hills Thunder lost both of the games they hosted during the St. George Tournament, falling to Skyridge, 4-1, on Thursday and to Westlake, 4-2, on Friday.

Snow Canyon 1, Skyridge 0 | Westlake 4, Snow Canyon 1

During the St. George Tournament, co-host Snow Canyon went 1-1, beating Skyridge on Wednesday and losing to Westlake on Thursday. 

Lilly Wittwer scored the lone goal of the game in the 1-0 win over the Skyridge Falcons. Goalkeepers Alondra Alvarado and Ruth Sumner combined for the shutout, with each minding the Warriors’ net for 40 minutes. During the 4-1 loss to Westlake, Snow Canyon’s Chloe Vowell scored the Warriors’ only goal.

Next week, Snow Canyon will open Region 9 play Thursday at Canyon View at 4 p.m.

Syracuse 10, Dixie 0 | Northridge 3, Dixie 0

The Dixie Flyers wrapped up a three-day preseason tournament at Syracuse High Aug. 6-8 with back-to-back shutout losses, falling to host team Syracuse on Aug. 7 and to Northridge the following day.

The 0-3 Flyers will open their Region 9 slate with a contest at Hurricane on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Stansbury 0, Hurricane 0 (Stansbury won in shootout)

Stansbury at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 7, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

At Hurricane on Aug. 7, the Tigers battled the Stansbury Stallions to a scoreless tie through regulation and overtime, only to lose on the deciding penalty kick shootout. The loss followed Hurricane’s 3-0 loss to Pine View the day before, which was classified as a preseason game rather than a region contest.

Hurricane (0-2 in preseason play) will next host Dixie at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20 in the Region 9 opener for both teams.

Canyon View 4, Juab 2

Canyon View stayed unbeaten in the preseason with a 4-2 win over the Juab Wasps at Nephi on Friday.

Canyon View head coach Steven Newman called the contest a “back-and-forth game.”

Juab scored first off a corner kick three minutes into the game, but Canyon View answered about seven minutes later, as Brylee Bergener passed the ball to teammate Addison Newman, who kicked it unto the next. Juab scored again midway through the first half to take a 2-1 lead, but only about a minute afterward, Cassidy Cox scored from six yards out off a blocked shot by the Juab goalie, tying the score 2-2, which stood until halftime.

The Falcons came out strong the second half, with Brinley Christensen netting the go-ahead score, thanks to a deft assist by Newman, who headed the ball to her teammate.  A few minutes later, Brylee Bergener took the ball down the right side and drove the ball past the keeper for an insurance goal.

Canyon View vs. Juab, Nephi, Utah, Aug. 14, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Deirdre Barton, St. George News / Cedar City News

Canyon View goalkeeper Aspen Bergener stopped a penalty kick late in the game to keep the Wasps from narrowing their deficit.

The 2-0 Falcons will host Snow Canyon to open regular season play on Aug. 20 at 4 p.m.

Cedar 4, Juan Diego 0

One day after losing 5-1 at Alta High on Aug. 6, the Cedar Reds bounced back with a 4-0 shutout victory over Juan Diego Catholic High School, also in Sandy. Junior Emily Schuh scored three goals for the Reds, while Keana Tolman added another. Goalkeeper Kelsie Oldroyd picked up the shutout for Cedar, making a total of seven saves.

“The team responded well after yesterday’s game at Alta,” Cedar head coach Scott Kamachi said after the Juan Diego game. “We switched our formation, which allowed us to see the passing lanes better. It was nice to finally beat Juan Diego.”

“We still have work to do to get ready for a tough region schedule,” Kamachi added. 

The 1-1 Reds host Pine View to open Region 9 play next Thursday at 4 p.m.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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