Region 9 boys soccer: Snow Canyon stays on top, with Crimson, Dixie right behind

ST. GEORGE — The Snow Canyon Warriors stayed atop the Region 9 boys soccer standings with a home win over Pine View on Tuesday night.

Hurricane boys soccer at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, April 9, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Also on Tuesday, Crimson Cliffs, Dixie and Desert Hills all won at home, as the region’s top four teams further distanced themselves from the bottom four. Friday’s games saw no decision closer than two goals and as far as five in Crimson’s road victory over Pine View.

Snow Canyon won their last six games to keep their crown at 9-1, with Crimson Cliffs and Dixie on their heels at 8-2. The Warriors beat Crimson Cliffs in their first meeting and lost to Dixie in overtime.

Following are short recaps of Tuesday night’s contests, followed by those that took place last Friday. This Friday’s schedule and current standings are also provided.

Tuesday’s games

Desert Hills 3, Cedar 2

At Desert Hills, Bridger Heaton scored a goal and assisted on two others — to teammates Alexis Gonzales and Zack Davis — as the Thunder outlasted Cedar. The Reds got one goal apiece from Tristan Yapi and Drake Olsen but could not score an equalizing goal throughout the scoreless second half.

Snow Canyon 3, Pine View 1

At Snow Canyon, the Warriors defeated the Panthers 3-1. Following a penalty kick goal by Damon Lund, Snow Canyon’s Sanders Esplin added a goal, assisted by Brock Schroeder, as the Warriors took a 2-1 halftime lead. Snow Canyon then added an insurance goal in the second half, with Josh Ruiz scoring off an assist by Esplin.

Crimson Cliffs 8, Hurricane 0

The Mustangs swarmed the Tigers early and often to put on a show for the home crowd. Nicolas Delahunty launched a pass from Crimson’s end across midfield, turning the Tigers’ defenders around and leaving Andy Lagomarsino with room to run down the right side before beating Hurricane’s keeper long side just over six minutes into the contest.

Crimson scored three more goals in the half. Peter Butterfield made it 2-0 before Lagomarsino scored again with an assist from Jacob McKittrick. Lagomarsino assisted Ramon Mitchell Squires to close the first-half scoring.

The Mustangs doubled their lead by the end of the second half. Lagomarsino scored two more goals to bring his total to four. Ryan Woolley and David Heinze also scored.

Jack Monson and Treyden Stringham shared the shutout.

Crimson had previously beaten Hurricane 2-1 on the road.

Dixie 7, Canyon View 0

At Dixie, the Flyers shut out the Canyon View Falcons, with Briggs McLauchlin netting four goals and an assist.

Last Friday’s games

Snow Canyon 2, Desert Hills 1

The Warriors scored the go-ahead goal with less than one second remaining in regulation to secure the home victory and claim a season sweep over the rival Thunder.

Desert Hills soccer at Snow Canyon, Snow Canyon High School, St. George, Utah, April 9, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen. St. George News

After a scoreless first half, Jake Wittwer got the first goal for Snow Canyon, taking a free kick from Brock Schroeder, dribbling through Desert Hills keeper Josh Greer and slide-kicking the finish near the left post. Desert Hills responded with the equalizer shortly after when Seb Rosas found the back of the net on a leaping header off a cross by Ben Ekins from the left corner.

Wittwer was tripped up in the box and given a penalty kick with the opportunity to put the Warriors ahead late but sailed the chance high over the net to keep the score knotted at 1-1.

As the clock ticked down with the ball deep in the Snow Canyon end and the ball in the hands of Warriors keeper Xavier Pinna, overtime seemed likely. He punted the ball to midfield where it was lifted down the left side near the corner for Joshua Ruiz with room to run. He carried the ball in close and missed on a through ball to Wittwer, who got tied up with a Desert Hills defender. Damon Lund cleaned it up on the far side, dribbled in near the baseline and banked it off a Thunder player with less than two seconds left for a de facto walk-off victory.

It was Snow Canyon’s ninth win in 10 Region 9 contests and sixth straight overall.

Hurricane 3, Canyon View 0

At Canyon View, the Hurricane Tigers shut out the Falcons. Matt Johnson scored first, from a cross by teammate Conor Kovacs. Kaden Hatch found the net on a through ball from Yair Vega to give the Tigers a 2-0 halftime lead. In the second half, Mike Stirland added one more goal for Hurricane, assisted by Caleb Henderson. Goalkeeper Tracen Lemmon picked up the shutout.

Dixie 3, Cedar 1

At Cedar, the Flyers led 1-0 at halftime, then scored in the opening minutes of the second half to go ahead 2-0. Cedar’s Edgar Arana scored on a penalty kick to bring the Reds within one, but Dixie later clinched the win with another goal. Denrick Tahual, Jorge Quintero and Gabe Jimenez each scored a goal for Dixie.

Crimson Cliffs 5, Pine View 0

At Crimson Cliffs, the Mustangs snapped a two-game losing streak with a shutout win over the Pine View Panthers. Five different Mustangs scored, taking a 2-0 lead into the half. Ramon Mitchell Squires, Jacob Mckittrick, Kai Klingonsmith, Tad Ottenschot and Scotty Mckittrick each got on the scoring sheet.

Klingonsmith added an assist to lead the game with three points. David Heinze, Peter Butterfield and Tyler Moon were also credited with helpers. Jack Monson made four saves in the shutout.

Friday’s schedule (April 16)

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

Region 9 boys soccer standings, as of April 14

  1. Snow Canyon 9-1 (9-2)
  2. Crimson Cliffs 8-2 (10-3)
  3. Dixie 8-2 (8-3)
  4. Desert Hills 7-3 (7-5)
  5. Cedar 3-7 (5-8)
  6. Hurricane 3-7 (3-8)
  7. Pine View 1-9 (2-10)
  8. Canyon View 1-9 (1-9)

Cedar City News reporter JEFF RICHARDS contributed to this story.

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

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