ST. GEORGE — The semifinal matchups are set in the 4A state boys soccer tournament after a day of action on the pitch, and three of the four teams left standing are from Southern Utah’s Region 10.

Three quarterfinal games played out around St. George Thursday afternoon, as Crimson Cliffs edged Pine View once again, Dixie shutout Sky View and Desert Hills scored a shocking goal with two seconds left in regulation to defeat visiting Mountain Crest.

Up north in the fourth quarterfinal, Ridgeline outlasted Snow Canyon to earn a spot in next week’s semifinals.

Following are recaps of Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Desert Hills 1, Mountain Crest 0

Thunder junior Gage Lewis pulled off a remarkable last-second stunner on the pitch that might be called a soccer buzzer-beater. 

The visitors got the best of the chances during regulation after nearly 80 minutes of back-and-forth action. Mountain Crest shot two balls off the crossbar in the contest and Desert Hills goalie Shayden Scott had to make a couple of other key saves.

As the clock wound down in the second half and both teams tired a bit, it seemed that at least one and possibly two overtime sessions were inevitable.

But then in the final minute, Desert Hills won a corner kick. And with just two seconds remaining on the clock, Lewis collected a loose ball and drilled a shot into the net. 

“So everybody was kind of into the box, and I just decided, ‘Hey, if it bounces out, I got this shot,’ and eventually it did,” Lewis told St. George News. “I just got that one shot, and luckily for me it went in. Just happy to be here.”

Fans and players on the sideline buzzed in anticipation as the Thunder moved the ball down the field in the final seconds.

“I felt the energy, everybody was all on their feet,” Lewis said, adding that he knew they would score once they got that last-second corner kick.

Lewis and his teammates erupted in celebration after the goal.

The outcome of the game was one more confirmation that something magical might be happening for the Thunder.

As previously reported in St. George News, the Desert Hills players have dedicated their season to freshman Stockton Beckstrom’s mother, who is battling cancer. The Thunder honored Beckstrom and his mother by starting him on senior night against Hurricane at the end of the regular season.

In Desert Hills’ first playoff game against Bear River and then again Thursday against Mountain Crest, the visiting teams wore wristbands to signify solidarity with the Desert Hills family. And Mountain Crest presented a gift basket before the game as well.

“That’s what we do this for,” Desert Hills coach Benji Nelson said. “I’m good friends with the coach over there and that just shows what a class act these guys are. That’s why we coach.”

Up next for the Thunder is a 4A state semifinal against backyard rival and No. 1 seed Crimson Cliffs. The game is scheduled for the morning of May 10 at Juan Diego High School in Draper.

“I’m excited. We got Crimson, we know them well,” Nelson said. “It’s gonna be a battle. We’ve been there before, we’ve done that, the big show. We’re going to give it all we got. Two great teams, may the best team win. Whoever plays well.”

Crimson Cliffs 3, Pine View 2

Region 10 champion and No. 1 seed Crimson Cliffs edged Pine View for the third time this year to earn its berth in the semis.

The Mustangs beat the Panthers 2-0 and 1-0 in the regular season. Like those two battles, Thursday’s playoff game could have gone either way before Crimson Cliffs found just a little bit more left in the tank and prevailed.

Scoring goals for Crimson Cliffs were Ryan Woolley, Scotty McKittrick and Luke Fairbanks. Woolley, McKittrick and Camden Squires all posted assists in the win.

Crimson Cliffs struck first in the game, then Pine View equalized. A header from McKittrick late in the first half put the home team ahead 2-1 at the intermission.

The Mustangs improved to 14-2 on the season and have won nine consecutive games as they head to the semifinals.

Crimson Cliffs and Desert Hills split their two games in Region 10 play this season, with the Thunder winning 2-1 on March 18 and the Mustangs taking a 2-0 win on April 5.

Dixie, 4, Sky View 0

At Dixie, the No. 2 seeded Flyers scored twice in each half to defeat the 10th-seeded Sky View Bobcats, 4-0.

Dixie’s first goal came less than four minutes into the game, when Noah Knox kicked it into the net. Approximately 15 minutes later, Jorge Quintero notched Dixie’s second score.

Then, just two minutes into the second half, Kamden Rocha headed in a kick from the left corner to put the Flyers ahead 3-0. Iker Meza rounded out the scoring with a close-range kick with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Dixie advances to play No. 3 seed Ridgeline in the semifinals at Juan Diego on May 10.

Ridgeline 3, Snow Canyon 0

At Ridgeline High in Millville, the RiverHawks and the Snow Canyon Warriors battled each other through an evenly matched, scoreless first half.

Ridgeline broke the ice with a breakaway goal with about 33 minutes left.

With just five minutes left and Snow Canyon looking to get an equalizer, the Warriors came tantalizingly close to heading the ball into the net. However, Ridgeline once again made the save.

Shortly thereafter, Snow Canyon had an own goal deflected into their net, making it 2-0. Ridgeline then added one more insurance goal a minute or so later.

“We had a really good first half with some great opportunities,” said assistant coach Marc Wittwer, who had just watched his son Stockton, a senior, play his final game for the Warriors.

“Once we got down a goal, we moved to a lot of players into the attack, which really exposed us, but we felt it was out best chance to win,” Wittwer added. “The last 10 minutes of the game, we were playing with only two defenders.”

Snow Canyon finishes its season with an overall record of 8-9, while Ridgeline advances to play Dixie in the semifinals on May 10.

— written by Jeff Richards

4A semifinals, Juan Diego High School, May 10:

• No. 1 Crimson Cliffs vs. No. 4 Desert Hills, 10 a.m.
• No. 2 Dixie vs. No. 3 Ridgeline, 12:30 p.m.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.