ST. GEORGE — After trailing for much of the game in the 4A girls’ soccer state semifinals, the Snow Canyon Warriors scored two late goals in a five-minute span to defeat the Sky View Bobcats 2-1.
The win advances the Warriors to the state championship game on Saturday. They’ll face the top-seeded Mountain Crest Mustangs, who defeated Green Canyon 3-0 in the other semifinal match earlier Thursday afternoon. Both semifinals were staged at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper.
Saturday’s 4A state championship game between No. 1 Mountain Crest (16-3) and No. 3 Snow Canyon (14-4) is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.
In Thursday evening’s evenly matched contest between No. 3 Snow Canyon and No. 7 Sky View, the Bobcats got the upper hand by scoring a goal midway through the first half.
That 1-0 score stood until the 73rd minute of the contest, when Snow Canyon junior Millie Warner lofted a shot from the right side that was deflected by Sky View’s goalkeeper, only to be knocked into the net on the rebound by fellow junior Ashlee Harris.
Although that equalizer took off some of the pressure, Snow Canyon didn’t let up. With just over two minutes left in regulation (the game’s 78th minute) senior Maddie Clegg dribbled down from the middle toward the right side of the pitch, then drilled a perfectly placed shot into the lower left corner of the net.
That proved to be the game-winner, as Sky View was unable to answer within the final two minutes. The Bobcats had a good look on a free kick with about 45 seconds remaining, but Snow Canyon goalkeeper Tori Martin deflected it up and over the net.
“The girls were patient and kept their heads,” Snow Canyon coach Connor Brown told St. George News via text afterward. “It can be tough to be down for a long period in a semifinal. They stuck with our game plan and the chances came. Incredible grit from this group. They fight to the very end.”
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