Region 9 boys soccer: Canyon View prevails over Pine View in penalty-kick shootout

CEDAR CITY — The Canyon View and Pine View boys soccer teams battled each other to a scoreless tie for 100 minutes on the Falcons’ home pitch Tuesday afternoon. In the ensuing penalty kick shootout, Canyon View managed to put all five of its shots into the net to clinch the victory.

Pine View boys soccer at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, March 16, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Although neither team scored in regulation, Pine View came close, narrowly missing a penalty kick during the 30th minute of the first half that was stopped by Canyon View goalkeeper Brock Marsh.

The contest was played under dark, overcast skies and chilly weather conditions, seemingly getting colder and darker with each passing minute.

After regulation time had ended with the score still 0-0, two 10-minute overtime periods also passed without either team finding the net. 

The game then went into a deciding PK shootout, which involves five players from each team taking turns kicking from the penalty spot just 12 yards away.

First up for Canyon View was team captain Gage Paine, a senior. Paine’s initial kick was stopped by Pine View keeper Benjamin Beckstrand, but the referee ordered the attempt be replayed, saying the keeper had left the line before the kick. Paine then converted his next attempt.

Pine View head coach Ryan Duckworth told St. George News afterward that he disagreed with the call.

“Our keeper played it perfectly,” Duckworth said. “He had both feet on the line when the ball was kicked. The excellent save was taken away from him.”

Despite the momentum-changing nature of the play, Duckworth did note that it was his team’s responsibility to not put themselves in a situation that necessitated a shootout.

“While it’s easy to focus on the officiating, it’s unfortunate that we put ourselves in a position of a shootout and the game decision in the officials’ hands,” he added. “Canyon View’s keeper also deserves recognition for his big save on our PK in the first half. We make that, and we aren’t even in a shootout.”

Seconds after Paine’s successful re-kick, Pine View’s first penalty shot attempt was partially deflected by Marsh before hitting the left post and bouncing away.

Pine View boys soccer at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, March 16, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Canyon View’s next four shooters converted their PK attempts, as did Pine View’s next three. However, once Canyon View’s last shot — taken by Marsh himself — had gone in, the game was over, since Pine View was at an insurmountable 5-3 disadvantage at that point.

Canyon View head coach Dustin Schaible had high praise for Marsh after the game.

“It was his first varsity game ever,” Schaible said of the sophomore keeper. “He’s coming off a big injury and actually just had surgery in January. He did a tremendous job for us.”

Additionally, the coach credited Paine and the other seniors who successfully placed their penalty kicks into the net.

“They provided good leadership and didn’t get too excited about it,” Schaible said. “They were nice and calculated going into it, and every one of them finished.”

Canyon View improves to 1-1 in Region 9 play with the win, while Pine View drops to 0-2.

In other action Tuesday night, Crimson Cliffs shut out Cedar 7-0, as six different players scored for the Mustangs. Additionally, Snow Canyon beat Hurricane 5-0, with Jacob Wittwer scoring four goals in that game and teammate Sanders Esplin adding one goal and two assists. Finally, Desert Hills defeated Dixie 3-2 at Dixie, with both teams moving to 1-1 in region play.

Several Region 9 teams have also played various non-region games since last week’s season opener. The standings chart below also has each team’s overall record including out-of-conference contests, since they are also used to calculate RPI rankings:

Friday’s schedule (March 19)

  • Pine View at Cedar, 4 p.m.
  • Snow Canyon at Canyon View, 4 p.m.
  • Desert Hills at Crimson Cliffs, 5 p.m.
  • Dixie at Hurricane, 7 p.m.

Region 9 boys soccer standings, as of March 17

  1. Crimson Cliffs 2-0 (4-1)
  2. Snow Canyon 2-0 (2-1)
  3. Canyon View 1-1 (1-1)
  4. (tie) Desert Hills 1-1 (1-2)
  5. (tie) Dixie 1-1 (1-2)
  6. (tie) Hurricane 1-1 (1-2)
  7. (tie) Cedar 0-2 (1-3)
  8. (tie) Pine View 0-2 (1-3)

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!