ST. GEORGE – Once again it was an intense night of soccer in Region 9. Every game Tuesday came down to the wire, each team fighting to grab the top spot from Snow Canyon. The Warriorts are still atop the standings, but the fight is on. This is the kind of action that gets everyone excited for soccer and acting like Real Salt Lake’s Riot Section:

Dixie 3, Snow Canyon  2

Lindsey Barben scored the game winning goal in the 76th minute to help the Flyers upset the Lady Warriors at Dixie High School.

“We needed to beat them to stay in contention for the playoffs,” Flyers head coach Sam Gibbs said. “I’m super proud of the girls. They played their hearts out. It was a really, really good game.”

During the first half, both teams traded shots and saves. Flyers goalie Mashaun Estridge started out by saving four shots right near the line.

At the 32nd minute, Lindsay Barben took a shot near the goal and had it deflected. Halee Barker took the rebound and sent the ball into the net for a 1-0 Flyers lead.

During the next minute, Lady Warriors striker Ashley Brindley was fouled from behind inside the goalie box, setting up a penalty kick. Brindley kicked the ball to the left side as it squeezed by the keeper to tie the game at one going into halftime.

Wind speed was a bother for both teams the whole game, as it was carrying the ball either too far, or bringing it back. Again, teams traded shots for the start of the second half.

At the 53rd minute, Barker found Kelcee Call out on a break as the Lady Warriors goalie was coming to the top of the box. Call beat the keeper and gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

Key Snow Canyon defensive player Samantha Lindsey was given a red card late in the second half, and will need to sit out the Lady Warriors next game.

“I don’t look at that as one of the determining plays,” Gibbs said. “I think our team had momentum and we just kept going. We had our game plan and played our game plan.”

The Lady Warriors were desperate for the equalizer, so Sarah Evans tied the game in the 75th minute after her shot went off a Flyers defender.

But just like last week against Hurricane, the Flyers came out strong and fast. Barben beat a defender after a Lady Warriors’ turnover and took a shot from 15 yards out. The ball sailed past the goalie and the Flyers had the lead once more.

“Our team just knew that giving up a goal didn’t mean it was the end,” Gibbs said. “They have the mentality to win.”

Kourtney Kezos, the Flyers senior captain, was proud of her teams’ ability to bounce right back.

“I’m just really proud of my team because we didn’t give up and we came back and scored just right after they did,” She said. “It’s really cool we can do that.”

The Flyers defense held on for the rest of the game to seal the upset.

Lady Warriors head coach Kenny Kunde said after the game his team didn’t do a great job of matching Dixie’s physicality.

“We have to figure out a way to get through all the physical play,” he said. “Teams are coming out and trying to be super physical. We’ve got to find a way to combat the physical play and we will be fine.”

Heidi Smith, the Lady Warriors leading scorer, did not play in the game due to injury.

“No excuses about that,” Kunde said. “We’ve got a talented enough team that we should be able to fill the holes.”

Snow Canyon, 4-1 in region, is still in first place with 12 points. Dixie, 3-0-1, is now within two of the Warriors. SC is off Thursday while Dixie is at Desert Hills.

Desert Hills 1, Hurricane 1 (F/2 OT)

The Tigers once again went into overtime and this time tied with the Thunder at Hurricane High School.

Mylee Moon was able to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead before halftime when she scored.

“They came out and played harder than us in the first half,” Thunder head coach Benji Nelson said. “It felt a lot like the Snow Canyon game.”

Tania Crosby was able to score for the Thunder in the second half. Both teams were unable to score again.

“I don’t feel as if we’ve had a game that we played all 80 minutes yet,” Nelson said. “We are going to change up our practice a bit so that we can get that fixed.”

The Tigers, 2-0-2, are a point ahead of the Thunder, 2-1-1 and sit in third place. Hurricane hosts Cedar Thursday, while DH is home vs. Dixie.

Cedar 3, Pine View 2

The Panthers comeback attempt ran out of time at Panther Stadium against the Lady Reds.

Cedar had all its goals come in the first half from Becca Boyer, Julia Hunt and Lexi Bird.

Erin Callahan scored a goal on a cross shot before halftime as the Panthers trailed 3-1 going into the break.

The game was almost over when Sarah Lloyd scored on a long shot for the Panthers in the 77th minute. The Panthers were unable to come up with the equalizing goal and fell just short.

Cedar, 2-2, is a one point out of fourth place in region play. Pine View, 0-5, is still looking for its first region points. The Lady reds are at Hurricane Thursday, while PV visits Canyon View.

Thursday’s Matches
Pine View @ Canyon View, 4 p.m.)
Cedar @ Hurricane, 7:30 p.m.
Dixie @ Deseret Hills, 7:30 p.m.

Region 9 Standings (Region, Points, Overall)
Snow Canyon 4-1-0, 12, 5-2-1
Dixie 3-0-1, 10, 3-2-2
Hurricane 2-0-2, 8, 4-0-2
Desert Hills 2-1-1, 7, 3-4-2|
Cedar 2-2-0, 6, 2-6-0
Canyon View 0-4-0, 0, 3-4-0
Pine View 0-5-0, 0, 0-7-0

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