ST. GEORGE — The three remaining Region 9 schools in the 4A boys soccer playoffs were each eliminated on Thursday, with Desert Hills, Dixie and Crimson Cliffs all falling in closely contested quarterfinal matches on the road.
Layton Christian 2, Desert Hills 2 (LCA wins in shootout, 4-2)
The No. 8-seeded Desert Hills Thunder almost pulled off a major upset at Layton Christian Academy, taking the top-ranked and No. 1-seeded Eagles into overtime and beyond.
Layton Christian scored first, on a penalty kick about five minutes into the contest.
Desert Hills head coach Benji Nelson said the Thunder began to find their rhythm about 20 minutes into the game.
“Unfortunately, we came up short on some great chances,” he said, noting that the first half ended with the score still 1-0 for LCA.
“About 15 minutes into the second half, we scored a breakaway goal when Isaak Poppe passed the ball down the left line to Carson Clark, who took it to goal and scored,” Nelson added.
Then, with about 16 minutes left, Poppe recorded his second assist when he threw the ball in to fellow senior Ean Alexander, who headed the ball into the top right corner of the net, giving the Thunder a 2-1 lead.
Approximately 10 minutes later, Layton Christian scored an equalizer, which Nelson described as “a shot from outside the top of the box that deflected off a defender and ricocheted the opposite way the keeper dove to block it.”
After regulation play ended 2-2, the teams played two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods, which meant the game would be decided via a penalty kick shootout.
“Both teams were exhausted but gave it all they had,” Nelson said.
The Eagles prevailed in the shootout, 4-2.
Despite the loss, Nelson called it the Thunder’s best game of the season.
“We left it all on the field,” he said. “Nothing to hang our heads about. We gave it all we had.”
Desert Hills finishes its season with an overall record of 9-7, including 7-5 in region play.
Murray 2, Dixie 1
At Murray, the No. 4 Spartans defeated No. 5 Dixie in what Flyers coach Travis Wilkinson called a “hard loss.”
“We played brilliantly for the first 15 minutes, with Murray having to defend in the half most of that 15 minutes,” Wilkinson said.
When Murray was awarded a penalty kick from an attempted slide tackle in the penalty box, Dixie goalkeeper Mason Randolph successfully stopped the kick.
“However, minutes later Murray found the goal from a loose ball in the Dixie six-yard box,” Wilkinson added, noting that the Spartans took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
Midway through the second half, Dixie senior Iker Meza slotted a shot past Murray’s keeper to tie the score 1-1.
With about 10 minutes left in the match, Murray’s Preston Lawson scored what ended up being the deciding goal. Wilkinson described the play as coming off a “controversial” high kick vs. handball call.
“Murray went quick on their restart and dropped the ball in behind the Dixie defensive line while a Murray player ran onto the ball and beat the Dixie keeper for the go-ahead score,” Wilkinson said.
The Region 9 champion Flyers ended their season with a 13-3 overall record, including 10-2 in region play.
Ridgeline 1, Crimson Cliffs 0
At Ridgeline High in Millville, the No. 2-seeded Riverhawks outlasted No. 7 Crimson Cliffs.
Senior Diego Vazquez kicked in the game’s only goal from the right side of the box about 17 minutes into the first half.
Although both teams saw multiple scoring opportunities thereafter, neither could capitalize.
Crimson Cliffs ends its season at 11-5 overall, including 9-3 and a second-place finish in the Region 9 standings.
The exit of the three Region 9 teams on Thursday leaves the 4A tournament’s top four seeds to advance to next Tuesday’s semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, where No. 1 Layton Christian will face No. 4 Murray at 9 a.m, followed by No. 2 Ridgeline vs. No. 3 Green Canyon at 11:15 a.m.
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