Region 9 soccer: Warriors open with tie of 6A Copper Hills

Snow Canyon's Brielle Hoskins (3) celebrates her first half goal, Snow Canyon vs. Copper Hills, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Aug. 10, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Snow Canyon and Desert Hills tied for the Region 9 girls soccer title last season, with the Warriors avoiding upsets and making it all the way to the state semifinals.

Those two teams were in action Thursday night, along with Cedar, also a playoff team, and Region 9 newcomer Canyon View. The Lady Warriors had to settle for a tie at home, while the Thunder and Lady Reds dropped a couple of matches, and the Falcons were able to come away with a narrow road win.

Here’s a look at Thursday’s action:

Snow Canyon 1, Copper Hills 1

The Warriors led 1-0 late in the first half after Brielle Hoskins headed in a beautiful corner from teammate Rachel Bunting.

But the lead didn’t last long. After Snow Canyon failed to clear a ball in the backfield, Copper Hills took the loose ball and converted. Brittany Bills fired the shot in the upper right corner of the net for the equalizer.

“It was actually a really good game for us,” SC coach Kenny Kunde said. “We got to play a lot of players and see a lot of different looks. Nobody played more than about 40 minutes in the match. We played probably 20 different players.”

Snow Canyon’s Ashley Brindley (17), Snow Canyon vs. Copper Hills, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Aug. 10, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Kunde said the Warriors goal was perfectly executed by Bunting and Hoskins.

“Bunting took the corner and played a really nice ball in the back half of the goal box,” he said. “Brielle was in the perfect spot and headed it right into the net. We had a 1-0 lead at that point.”

Kunde said the defensive mistake was one of just a few made by his team, but it resulted in the tie game.

“We had a horrible clear right at the start of the second half, just hit it right to them,” he said. “She put it right in the top corner, only just about a minute into the second half. That tied it and we spent the rest of the game trying to get the lead back.”

The winning goal never came, though Kunde said he was happy with the effort.

“I thought Heidi (Smith) and Ashley (Brindley) played really well up front,” he said. “We struggled a little in the midfield, but that happens sometimes when you play as many kids as we did.”

Kunde also pointed to the excellent play of Grace Call and Samantha “Bubba” Lindsey and goalkeeper Megan Rogers, who is just a sophomore.

The Warriors next action is Tuesday against 6A powerhouse Davis with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Warriors Stadium. Last season, SC lost to Davis 4-0.

Canyon View 1, Hunter 0

Mia Smith, who was second on the team in goal-scoring last year, notched her first net-finder of the 2017 campaign and it turned out to be the game winner.

Smith scored in the first half and the Falcons defense and goalkeeper Jessica Hinck made the goal stand up the rest of the way for the road win.

CV, 1-0-0, will stop at North Sanpete Friday on the way home and matchup with the Hawks at 3 p.m. at NSHS. The Falcons then play at home against Beaver next Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Viewmont 2, Desert Hills 0

These two team met for the very first time in girls soccer Thursday night, with the Vikings coming away with a 2-0 victory.

Sailor Ufftenf scored both goals for Viewmont, which is a 5A school from northern Utah. The Viking goalkeeper, Annie Winchester, recorded her first career shutout in the Viewmont win.

Desert Hills, which went 10-5-2 last year and 7-3 in Region 9, will continue its preseason slate with a match at second-year school Skyridge Friday morning at 10 a.m. After a short break, the Lady Thunder will then battle Orem, a 4A school, at 3 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.

Spanish Fork 4, Cedar 2

In Cedar City, the game was dead even at halftime, with the Lady Reds recording goals from Julia Hunt and Lauren Craft in a 2-2 stalemate.

But the offense dried up for CHS after the intermission, with the Lady Dons pulling away for the two-goal victory.

Cedar finished third in Region 9 last season, going 6-4 in league play and 8-7 overall. The Lady Reds will hit the road for their next four matches. Cedar plays at Viewmont at 10:30 a.m. Friday, and then heads up the mountain to Wasatch (Heber City) for an Aug. 18 match against the Wasps.

The Lady Reds then battle at Bonneville Aug. 19 at 1 p.m. before returning home, with the league-opener at Desert Hills coming Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Girls soccer weekend schedule

FRIDAY
Desert Hills at Skyridge, 10 a.m.; Cedar at Viewmont, 10:30 a.m.; Canyon View at North Sanpete, 3 p.m.; DH at Orem, 3 p.m.; Copper Hills at Pine View, 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY
Skyridge at Hurricane, 8 a.m.; Desert Hills at East, 10 a.m.

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Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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