Region 9 boys soccer: Dixie outlasts Snow Canyon in OT; 3 teams tied at 10-2

Crimson Cliffs soccer's Tyler Moon dribbles the ball through the defense at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, April 20, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

ST. GEORGE — The Dixie Flyers boys soccer team outlasted Snow Canyon in overtime Tuesday night, creating a three-way tie for first place in the Region 9 standings.

Crimson Cliffs soccer at Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 16, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Both teams now have 10-2 region records with two games remaining in the regular season, as does Crimson Cliffs, which shut out Canyon View earlier Tuesday afternoon. See standings chart at bottom of story, which has been updated with each team’s RPI ranking, as calculated by the Utah High School Activities Association. Each team’s RPI will be used for seeding in the state playoffs.

Only two games remaining in the regular season with much to be decided. Snow Canyon first travels to Cedar on Friday before hosting Crimson Cliffs in the regular season finale in a match that could determine the regular season winner. Dixie plays at Crimson on Friday before traveling to Pine View on Tuesday.

Following are short recaps of Tuesday’s action, along with summaries of last Friday’s contests.

Tuesday’s games

Dixie 5, Snow Canyon 4 (OT)

At Dixie, the Flyers got the game-winning golden goal with about 25 seconds remaining in the first overtime period.

Snow Canyon had scored the first two goals of the game to go up 2-0, but Dixie got on the board with a goal that made it 2-1 at halftime. Dixie then scored an equalizer early in the second half, after which the teams traded goals until regulation ended with the score tied 4-4.

Dixie’s Jorge Quintero and Briggs Mclauchlin each scored twice, while Rene Bernal added another goal.

Jacon Wittwer scored two of the Warriors’ goals, while Brayan Hernandez and Sanders Esplin each added a goal.

The game left both teams with 10-2 region records, tying them atop the region standings along with Crimson Cliffs.

Desert Hills 7, Pine View 2

Pine View soccer at Desert Hills, Desert Hills High School, St. George, Utah, April 20, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

At Desert Hills’ senior night celebration, the Thunder rolled to a convincing win over Pine View, with Bridger Heaton netting five goals and assisting on both of the others, which were scored by Alexis Gonzales. Pine View got one goal apiece from Austin Kogan and Jared Casis. The Panthers struck early with the all-senior lineup on the field. Once the starters were in the game, the Thunder quickly got the goal back and scored another shortly after and ran from there.

Cedar 5, Hurricane 0

At Cedar, the Reds scored three goals in the first half and added two more in the second as they shut out the Hurricane Tigers. Drake Olsen scored four goals for the Reds. Cedar head coach Scott Kamachi, who missed the game due to illness, said Olsen was repeatedly able to gain advantageous position behind Hurricane’s back line, giving him opportunities to attack.

“We also were able to get a few younger players in the game to rest a few of our players for Friday,” Kamachi added. “At this point in the season, staying healthy is almost as important as winning.”

Crimson Cliffs 8, Canyon View 0

Crimson Cliffs put on a barrage of six first-half goals on the way to a road win in Cedar City.

Crimson Cliffs soccer at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, April 20, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Ramon Mitchell Squires had two goals in the first half and Scotty Mckittrick had both second-half scores. Kai Klingonsmith, Tyler Moon, Peter Butterfield and Camden Squires also found the net. Moon added an assist, as did Brock Esplin, Nicolas Delahunty, Ryan Wooley, Jacob Mckittrick and Kelton Mitchell.

Jack Monson and Treyden Stringham shared in the shutout.

The win, along with Dixie’s victory over Snow Canyon, helped the Mustangs return to first place in the standings in a three-way tie with the aforementioned schools. Crimson plays Dixie and Snow Canyon in the final two games of the team’s first full Region 9 season for a chance at the title.

Last Friday’s games

Dixie 3, Desert Hills 2 (OT)

At Desert Hills, Dixie’s Kamden Rocha netted the game-ending goal in overtime, giving the Flyers a 3-2 win over the Thunder. Rocha had scored one other goal earlier in the game, as had teammate Rene Bernal, while Desert Hills’ prolific scorer Bridger Heaton had kicked in two goals.

Desert Hills head coach Benji Nelson said the Thunder appeared to have scored first in overtime on a free kick that was headed into the net, but the referee called offside and nullified the play.

“That’s how it goes,” Nelson said,  and called the game “the best game” he’s watched in a long time.

“Both keepers played amazing,” he said. “It was a battle between two very equal teams.”

Crimson Cliffs 3, Cedar 1

At Cedar, the Reds scored the first goal of the game about 10 minutes in, as Isaac Fletcher found the back of the net.

Hurricane soccer at Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 20, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

About 10 minutes later, Tyler Moon scored an equalizer for the Mustangs, drilling in a 30-yard kick from the left wing, with Nicholas Delahunty getting the assist. The score stayed 1-1 until after halftime. During the second half, Crimson Cliffs got goals from Andy Lagomarsino and Ramon Mitchell Squires, with Kai Klingonsmith assisting on both.

Snow Canyon 2, Hurricane 1

In a tightly fought contest at Hurricane, the Warriors and Tigers battled to a 1-1 tie in the first half. Yair Vega scored Hurricane’s goal, while Jacob Wittwer scored Snow Canyon’s, assisted by Sanders Esplin.

The teams stayed deadlocked until about 15 minutes remaining in the second half, when Wittwer scored the go-ahead goal on a penalty kick that proved to be the game-winner.

Pine View 1, Canyon View 0

At Pine View, Arturo Rivera scored the only goal of the game in the second half as the Panthers shut out Canyon View. Kaden Cox and Benjamin Beckstrand shared the shutout.

Friday’s schedule (April 23)

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

Region 9 boys soccer standings, as of April 21

  1. Crimson Cliffs 10-2 (12-3) RPI: 4th
  2. Snow Canyon 10-2 (10-3) RPI: 5th
  3. Dixie 10-2 (10-3) RPI: 7th
  4. Desert Hills 8-4 (8-6) RPI: 10th
  5. Cedar 4-8 (6-9) RPI: 13th
  6. Hurricane 3-9 (3-10) RPI: 16th
  7. Pine View 2-10 (3-11) RPI: 18th
  8. Canyon View 1-11 (1-11) RPI: 20th

St. George News reporter RICH ALLEN contributed to this story.

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

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