ST. GEORGE — The three remaining Region 9 teams in the 4A state soccer tournament took care of business at home and now have to go chase the title on the road.
No. 8 seed Desert Hills held on to beat crosstown rival and No. 9 Snow Canyon Tuesday afternoon at Thunder Field.
Meanwhile, No. 7 Crimson Cliffs and No. 5 Dixie dispatched their first-round opponents with aplomb to join Desert Hills in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
Click here to see the updated brackets in the 4A state soccer tournament.
Desert Hills 2, Snow Canyon 1
The 11 seniors playing for Desert Hills simply didn’t want their season to end.
The Thunder played aggressively and grabbed the critical first goal 28 minutes into the first half. Senior Karson Clark’s header put the Thunder ahead 1-nil.
“We had a free kick, we sent it in, the defender squirted out and Zach (Davis) played a beautiful second-ball right to my head. I leaned over and it went in,” Clark said. “Coming into today the No. 1 thing was that we wanted to keep playing.”
Snow Canyon battled back and found the equalizer about midway through the second half. Adam Parkhurst fired from just inside the box and beat Desert Hills goalkeeper Aidan Chinn to make it 1-1.
Intensity of play increased dramatically after that, as did the number of yellow cards issued by the referee.
Neither team wanted to give an inch and the seconds ticked away until Desert Hills senior Dillon Bingham tucked in the go-ahead goal off a rebound.
“I was just in the right place at the right time,” Bingham said. “My teammate Noah Nield had a good shot, keeper made a great save but I was just there to put it back in.”
The Thunder earned a little bit of redemption after finishing the gauntlet of Region 9 play in fourth place at 7-5.
“It’s been a very competitive year,” Thunder coach Benji Nelson said. “I told the guys that we got 80 minutes. We got to go play, and if you just give it your all I think we can go pull it out. And we were able to do that.”
Up next for the Thunder is a quarterfinal matchup at No. 1 Layton Christian Academy Thursday at 4 p.m.
Dixie 3, Hillcrest 1
The Flyers yielded the first tally at Walt Brooks Field but scored three unanswered to defeat the No. 12 Huskies.
After the visitors scored to make it 1-nil shortly after the game started, Dixie won a corner kick. Joe Pasley lofted it to Iker Mesa, who converted point-blank to tie the score 1-1.
Gunnar Woods assisted Melvin Contreras for Dixie’s second marker and then Taylor Kogan’s insurance tally provided the final margin in the second half. Kimball Carter assisted on the play.
The Region 9 champion Flyers are 14-2 on the season. They play at No. 4 Murray in the quarterfinals Thursday at 4 p.m.
Crimson Cliffs 5, Cottonwood 1
The Mustangs outraced the Colts, scoring twice in the first half and thrice in the second for a convincing win in Washington Fields.
Crimson got solo markers from five different players – Ezekiel Weir, Ivan Tovmash, Ryan Smith, Bo Lawrence and Hinckley Heaton.
And four different Mustangs recorded assists in the win – Weir, Mason Woolley, Jona Melo and Jayden Eaton.
Crimson finished second in Region 9 at 9-3 and are 12-4 overall.
Up next for the Mustangs is a quarterfinal matchup at No. 2 Ridgeline Thursday at 4 p.m.
Photo Gallery
Desert Hills' Gage Jeppson (middle) works against Snow Canyon's Brandon Perez (right) in a 4A state playoff soccer game, St. George, Utah, May 14, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Desert Hills' Gage Jeppson (middle) works against Snow Canyon's Caden Morris (right) in a 4A state playoff soccer game, St. George, Utah, May 14, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Snow Canyon's Adam Parkhurst (left) and Desert Hills' Kason Davis (right) battle for the ball in a 4A state playoff soccer game, St. George, Utah, May 14, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Snow Canyon's Brandon Perez (left) and Desert Hills' Kason Davis (middle) battle for the ball in a 4A state playoff soccer game, St. George, Utah, May 14, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Desert Hills' Noah Nield (left) and Snow Canyon's Brock Boyce battle for the ball in a 4A state playoff soccer game, St. George, Utah, May 14, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
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