Snow Canyon soccer team beats Logan, advances to 4A championship game

File photo of Ashley Brindley of Snow Canyon during an earlier season game at Pine View, St. George, Utah, Oct. 5, 2018 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Snow Canyon girls soccer team rallied from behind to win its semifinal game 2-1 against Logan Friday afternoon, putting the Lady Warriors in Saturday’s state championship game.

The contest, played at Jordan High School in Sandy, was a hard-fought battle between two evenly matched teams. Logan, the champion and No. 1 seed from Northern Utah’s Region 12, scored first on a straightaway kick midway through the first half that flew into the net just above the outstretched arms of Snow Canyon goalkeeper Megan Rodgers.

Then, with less than a minute to play in the first half, Snow Canyon’s Ashley Brindley fired in a long shot of her own, off teammate Heidi Smith’s assist. That equalizer tied the game 1-1 at the half.

Throughout the second half, the two teams battled back and forth, with both goalkeepers making multiple stops.

With about eight and a half minutes left in the game, Snow Canyon’s Kenzee Brough took a corner kick from the right corner. The ball dropped right in the box in front of Tylei Jensen, who promptly booted it directly into the net, putting the Warriors ahead 2-1.

Snow Canyon’s defense managed to thwart repeated attempts by Logan to score again, and time eventually ran out on the Grizzlies.

“We have scored in every match this year, so I knew the goals would come,” Snow Canyon head coach Kenny Kunde told St. George News afterward. “I was more concerned with the inability to connect passes. But these kids are resilient, they stayed focused. Ashley’s goal right before half, on the assist from Heidi, was a big momentum changer for us.”

Kunde said Logan was the best team Snow Canyon has faced all year.

“Our defense worked their butts off,” he said. “They held strong against some great pressure from Logan.”

Snow Canyon advances to play in Saturday’s championship game against Orem, the No. 1 seed from Region 10. Orem edged past Mountain Crest 1-0 on Friday, getting the game-winning goal in the final seconds of the second overtime.

Saturday’s 4A title contest starts at 11 a.m. at the Rio Tinto professional soccer stadium in Sandy.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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