Region 9 girls soccer: Warriors, Panthers, Flyers all victorious in opening matches

Written by E. George Goold
August 21, 2024

ST. GEORGE — The Warriors outlasted the Thunder, one more time.

Snow Canyon sophomore Kenzlie Stuart (33) works against Desert Hills in a Region 9 girls soccer match, St. George, Utah, Aug. 20, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Snow Canyon defeated Desert Hills 1-nil in the Region 9 girls soccer opening match Tuesday night, marking the third consecutive victory for the Warriors over their crosstown rivals.

Snow Canyon triumphed over Desert Hills 2-0 in the 4A state playoffs last year and also quelled the Thunder 5-4 in overtime at Desert Hills last Sept. 12.

That victory was part of a 10-game winning streak Snow Canyon ended its season with last year. The Warriors finally fell 2-1 at Park City in the quarterfinals of the 4A state playoffs.

Head coach Connor Brown, in his third season at Snow Canyon, saw the Warriors improve to 4-1 overall after Tuesday night’s critical first win in region play.

“You look at your schedule and you see such a good team in that first game, it’s important to try and make a statement,” Brown told St. George News. “We knew it would be tough. They beat us here last year.”

Snow Canyon possessed the ball more during action on the pitch but Desert Hills managed several strong counterpunches.

Hurricane and Pine View compete in a Region 9 girls soccer match, St. George, Utah, Aug. 20, 2024 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

“It was scrappy, start to finish,” Brown said. “Both teams fought super hard. We were able to get the moment that made the difference, and then our defense held down the fort, which was awesome.”

Snow Canyon came out of halftime with renewed effort on the attack, culminating in Lottie Smith’s marker and the game’s only score.

Amelia Nadauld fired a strong cross from near the sideline to the front of the goal. The Thunder goalkeeper overran it and the ball rolled right to Smith, who poked the ball into an empty net.

After that, the Warriors defense held firm, despite two direct kicks and a couple of late corner kicks forced by the Thunder.

Junior goalkeeper Tori Martin recorded six saves in the shutout victory.

“Defensively we’ve been working really hard to get organized,” Brown said. “We conceded more than we wanted to in the preseason. It’s something we’ve been emphasizing … just trying to organize ourselves, defend as a team.”

Both teams play again on Thursday. Snow Canyon hosts Pine View at 7:30 p.m. and Desert Hills is at Cedar for a 4 p.m. contest.

Pine View 3, Hurricane 2

The game was tied 1-1 at halftime before the Panthers edged the Tigers in the second half.

Ashley Leavitt scored twice for Pine View and Elsie Atkinson tallied the third goal for the winners.

Scoring statistics from Hurricane were not available.

Pine View (4-2) goes to Snow Canyon and Hurricane (3-2) is at Dixie (2-2) in their next games, both on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Dixie 2, Crimson Cliffs 1

The Flyers scored once in each half for a huge region-opening win in Washington Fields.

Brinley Steere and Brinlee Bennett netted the goals for Dixie’s win.

Isabella Rosenlund tallied for Crimson Cliffs, converting an assist from Kate Garrett.

Dixie hosts Hurricane on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. while Crimson Cliffs (4-2) has a bye on Thursday.

Cedar Valley 2, Cedar 0

In a non-region contest that marked Cedar’s last preseason game, the previously unbeaten Reds dropped a 2-0 decision at Cedar Valley High in Eagle Mountain.

“We didn’t adjust to the speed of play, gave up a couple early goals and couldn’t capitalize on our chances,” Cedar coach Scott Kamachi said following the loss on Tuesday night, which dropped the Reds to 4-1 overall.

Cedar’s next game will be its Region 9 opener at home when the Reds take on the Desert Hills Thunder on Thursday at 4 p.m.

–written by Jeff Richards

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, 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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