4A girls soccer playoffs: top-seeded Crimson Cliffs advances to semifinals with win over Logan

Crimson Cliffs vs. Logan, 4A girls soccer playoffs, Washington City, Utah, Oct. 16, 2021 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Crimson Cliffs Mustangs, the top-seeded team in the 4A girls soccer state playoffs, defeated the Logan Grizzlies on Saturday to advance to the semifinals.

Playing at Crimson Cliffs, the Mustangs broke a 1-1 halftime tie by scoring two more goals in the second half to post a 3-1 victory over the No. 8 seeded Grizzlies, which had beaten Pine View at Logan on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals.

Emily Gibb scored first for Crimson Cliffs, finding the net on an assist by Kate Young.

“We pounded the goal in the first half, and their team came up with some great defensive saves,” said Crimson Cliffs coach Kat Esplin.

Logan’s lone goal came off a corner kick in the first half.

Crimson Cliffs vs. Logan, 4A girls soccer playoffs, Washington City, Utah, Oct. 16, 2021 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News

In the second half, Jantzyn Losee scored the go-ahead goal for the Mustangs, with Allie Blanchard getting the assist. Belle Meadows later added an insurance goal, assisted by Losee.

“Our defense played solid the entire game, with Emalee Plewe shutting down their attack,” Esplin added.

Crimson Cliffs, the only remaining Southern Utah team in the 4A playoffs, will next face No. 4 seeded Sky View on Thursday at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper. The game is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Immediately after that game and on the same field, No. 2 Mountain Crest and No. 3 Ridgeline are scheduled to face each other in the other semifinal starting at 12:30 p.m. The winners of those two games will meet the next evening in the 4A state championship game, scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.

In other 4A playoff action involving Region 10 teams on Saturday afternoon, both Dixie and Desert Hills lost on the road to teams in Cache County. Dixie was shut out 3-0 by Ridgeline, while Desert Hills fell to Mountain Crest by a score of 4-1.

Desert Hills coach Benji Nelson said the game was tied 1-1 at halftime, but Mountain Crest scored three goals within a five-minute span starting about 10 minutes into the second half. “We didn’t give up, and played tough the last 25 minutes, but just couldn’t score,” he said. “Mountain Crest is a great team and won their region.”

Photo Gallery

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

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!