Region 9 girls soccer: Warriors win streak at 6; region title up for grabs with 3 matches left

Written by E. George Goold
September 21, 2023

ST. GEORGE — The Snow Canyon Warriors keep winning, and they have made the race for the Region 9 girls soccer championship up for grabs till the very end.

Snow Canyon went to Crimson Cliffs on Tuesday night and handed the Mustangs their first region loss of the season. It was the Warriors’ sixth consecutive victory.

Meanwhile, Desert Hills won big at home and Hurricane won on the road as teams jockeyed for position in the standings while the last two weeks of the regular season play out.

Following are recaps of Tuesday night’s Region 9 girls soccer matches.

Snow Canyon 2, Crimson Cliffs 1

Both teams played physical defense and clogged up the midfield, making both offenses work hard just to get shots off.

Snow Canyon’s Amelia Nadauld (left) and Crimson Cliffs’ Isabella Cotter (right) battle for the ball in a Region 9 girls soccer match, Washington, Utah, Sept. 19, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Snow Canyon’s senior forward Ashlee Harris started strong in the first half, controlling possession on the left wing and peppering Crimson’s cage with shots.

In the 14th minute of the match, Harris streaked down the sideline and took a pass from Jolee Irvin. Harris went into the box one-on-one and tapped the ball past Crimson keeper Kenadee Richey for a 1-nil Warriors advantage.

Harris initiated the next score for Crimson about 10 minutes later.

She took the ball in transition along the sideline and passed to Chloe Vowell, who worked a nice little give-and-go with Lottie Smith.

Vowell collected Smith’s return, burst into the box alone and beat Richey from nearly the same spot as Harris’ marker.

The Warriors took a 2-nil advantage into halftime and then played defense for most of the second session as the Mustangs attacked with renewed energy after the break.

“Our plan was to use our extra numbers in the midfield versus their formation and try to create advantages,” Snow Canyon coach Conner Brown told St. George News. “The girls executed the game plan perfectly and got those two timely goals.”

The Mustangs pressured the ball and attacked Snow Canyon’s defense for most of the second half, coming close a couple of times but Warriors sophomore goalkeeper Tori Martin was a stonewall in the cage.

Snow Canyon’s Ashlee Harris (left) looks on while Crimson Cliffs’ Kate Garrett attacks the ball in a Region 9 girls soccer match, Washington, Utah, Sept. 19, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

“For me, probably the player of the game tonight is our keeper,” Brown said. “Tori had a ton of big saves. She was lights out tonight and we needed her.”

Crimson Cliffs was able to break through with a little over five minutes remaining.

The Mustangs earned a penalty kick after a foul in the box and Sam Park converted to make Snow Canyon’s lead 2-1.

That turned out to be the final as Crimson was unable to find the equalizer.

“To hold onto it at the end is really important,” Brown said. “They put us under a lot of pressure. Crimson is an incredible team, so athletic, they play so hard and physical. It’s always a tough game against them.”

Snow Canyon maintained the third spot in Region 9 standings at 7-3, 9-5 overall. 

Crimson Cliffs fell to 8-1 in region play, 10-3 overall, and is still on top of the standings.

Desert Hills 6, Pine View 1

The Thunder handled the Panthers at home and remained in second place in Region 9 at 8-2, 11-4 overall.

Ellie Hendrix continued to lead the region scoring with four tallies against Pine View and also dispensed two assists in the win.

Hendrix has 18 goals on the campaign along with 14 assists, according to Maxpreps.

Carly Knudson and Lillia Erickson scored the other markers in Desert Hills’ win.

Knudson, Emery Simister, Brynlee Mortenson and Dottie Bethers all notched an assist for the Thunder.

Casey Morley netted Pine View’s goal. The Panthers slipped to 1-9 in region play and are 1-12 overall on the season.

Hurricane 3, Dixie 0

The Tigers scored twice in the first half and then once more in the second to beat the Flyers at Dixie.

Sophomore MiKayla Stewart led the way for the Tigers, scoring twice and dishing out an assist in the victory for Hurricane.

Camila Quintero netted the other marker for the Tigers.

Freshman Roxie Wiese recorded an assist in the win, as did Hurricane’s Olivia Thomas.

Hurricane picked up its first win in Region 9 play and is 1-8, 3-9 overall.

Meanwhile, Dixie slipped to 3-6, 3-9 and is in fifth place in the standings.

Region 9 girls soccer matches Thursday, Sept. 21:

  • Snow Canyon at Cedar, 4 p.m.
  • Desert Hills at Hurricane, 7:30 p.m.
  • Dixie at Crimson Cliffs, 7:30 p.m.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric George Goold came to St. George News from southwestern Colorado, where he was a radio news reporter. He has been a journalist for over 20 years in five different states. He graduated with a master's degree in English from Kansas State University and writes nonfiction as well. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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