Region 9 soccer: Late Thunder surge not enough as Warriors survive

Snow Canyon's Heidi Smith (7) scores a goal on a header, Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Aug. 24, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Thursday night was another exciting night for girls soccer. There were two blowouts and one near comeback upset. Here is a recap of the action:

SNOW CANYON 3, DESERT HILLS 2

Heidi Smith scored all of the Warriors goals as Snow Canyon survived a second half surge from the Thunder at Warrior Stadium.

“I feel like our team’s hard work finally paid off,” said Smith. “It really felt like a team effort.”

Smith’s first goal came in the 10th minute of the game.

“It was a great combination ball she did with Ashley (Brindley),” said Warriors coach Kenny Kunde.

Snow Canyon’s Arantxa Melendez (10) and Desert Hills’ Molly Haslem (5), Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Aug. 24, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

In the 16th minute, Samantha Lindsey threw the ball in from the sideline, got one good bounce to Smith, and Smith headed the ball into the goal for her second tally of the night. Lindsey and Smith connected again on an inbound header goal in the 24th minute.

“Those throw-ins are a good weapon for us,” Kunde said. “Heidi just does a great job of being in that position when those throw-ins come and has a good knack of knowing where to be and knowing when to put that touch on the ball to get it through.”

Smith now has five goals on the year, with two coming last game against Pine View.

Desert Hills was able to score just before the first half ended when captain Drew Morby took advantage of the Warriors goalkeeper coming too far out of the box.

Snow Canyon went into halftime with a 3-1 lead.

Desert Hills came out of intermission on fire. The defense was adjusted and the offense was moving down the field with ease.

Desert Hills’ Rylee Robinson (20) and Snow Canyon’s Kira Boettcher (24), Snow Canyon vs. Desert Hills, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Aug. 24, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“I felt like the second half, after we went over where positions are and what we want to do and where we want to make our runs, got better, ” said D-Hills coach Benji Nelson. “I’m totally good and confident with what we saw in the second half.”

Smith said the intensity ratcheted up after halftime.

“You could tell they wanted it just as bad as us,” said Smith. “They were really fired up.”

Kunde said he was happy to escape with a win after the intense second half.

“They did a great job of packing the middle and taking away some of the possession options we were trying to create,” he said. “I thought they maybe outplayed us in the second half.”

Drew Morby scored again for the Thunder in the 49th minute. The Thunder had one more goal go in, but was called back after an offside penalty.

Even after the tough loss, Desert Hills players could be heard praising one another for their efforts and calling on each other to use this game as motivation. Each one is planning to use this when the Thunder play host to the Warriors.

“They are getting to know each other and are playing off each other,” Nelson said of his young team that lost 10 seniors from last year. “I thought the effort tonight was better by the whole team.”

The Warriors out-shot the Thunder 23-12 as well as had 13 shots on goal compared to the Thunder’s six.

Snow Canyon, 3-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 in region, hosts Cedar Tuesday. Desert Hills, 2-4-1 and 1-1-0, next plays at Pine View Thursday.

CEDAR 8 CANYON VIEW 0

The Lady Reds were on fire from the start at home against the Falcons, out-0shooting them 48-8, as well as having 25 shots on goal compared to two.

Tasha Kamachi had a hat trick for the Lady Reds while Rachel Hunt added two more goals.

“(We stressed) finishing opportunities after Tuesday,” Cedar coach Scott Kamachi said. “In our region, it’s just one game at a time because they are going to be tough.”

Julia Hunt, Kaitlyn Rowley and Logan Laws also had one goal each for the Cedar, which is 1-1-0 in region play. The Lady Reds are at Snow Canyon Tuesday. The Falcons, 3-2-0 and 0-2-0, are at Dixie Tuesday. 

DIXIE 7, PINE VIEW 2

The Flyers played their first region game at home against the Panthers and dominated.

Lindsey Barben scored a hat trick for the Flyers, while Kelcee Call had one goal and two assists.

The Flyers also had Jessica Vasquez, McCall Maynard, Averie Howes and Kennedy Warnick score one goal each. Barben also had two assists, while Warnick and Lacee Durrant had one assist each.

Region 9 games next week:

Tuesday
Cedar @ Snow Canyon, 7:30 p.m.
Canyon View @ Dixie, 7:30 p.m.
Hurricane at Pine View, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday
Snow Canyon @ Canyon View, 4 p.m.
Desert Hills @ Pine View, 7:30 p.m.
Dixie @ Hurricane, 7:30 p.m.

Region 9 Standings (region, points, overall)
Snow Canyon 2-0-0, 6, 3-1-1
Hurricane 1-0-0, 3, 3-0-0
Dixie 1-0-0, 3, 1-2-1
Desert Hills 1-1-0, 3, 2-4-1
Cedar 1-1-0, 3, 1-5-0
Canyon View 0-2-0, 0, 3-2-0
Pine View 0-2-0, 0, 0-4-0

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

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

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