Region 9 soccer: Dixie falls, but holds onto 1st with SC loss

Dixie vs. Cedar, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Sept. 12, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – The battle for Region 9 rages on. Before Tuesday night’s games, the standings were jumbled enough. The top two teams were separated by only one point. The third and fourth teams were also one point from each other, with another team just behind them. But instead of a little separation, things got even tighter with losses by the top two teams.

It should be a wild ride the next six games as teams look toward the playoffs. Here’s a look at Tuesday’s finals:

Cedar 4, Dixie 1

The Lady Reds came into Walt Brooks Stadium and knocked off the top seeded Flyers behind the goals of Julia Hunt and Logann Laws.

“We knew that tonight, with a third loss, that first place probably was not going to be an option for us.” Lady Reds head coach Scott Kamachi said. “So we had to play really hard tonight to get that win, which we did. That sets us up for the second half where we have a bunch of games at home.

Dixie vs. Cedar, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Sept. 12, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“That’s what we wanted to do, give ourselves a chance to play for first place. A chance to determine our own destiny.”

Flyers wing Kennedy Warnick was able to start the scoring off for the night, despite fighting an illness, in the 10th minute after a great pass from Kelcee Call set up the goal. From then on, the Lady Reds were in control of the game.

During the 12th minute, a Lady Reds shot deflected off the cross bar. Julia Hunt was able to put her head on the ball and sneak it into the goal to tie the game 1-1.

“I just smashed my face right into the ball, hoping to get something in,” Hunt said, “I didn’t even think it was going to go in because it was a weird angle. But it went in and I was like ‘Heck ya!’”

Hunt appeared to be flying past the Flyers defense all night.

Dixie vs. Cedar, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Sept. 12, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“Me and my sister run track, so we’re used to it,” she said. “We’re always working on our speed. We’re used to sprinting.”

In the 21st minute, the freshman Laws put in the second goal of the half for the Lady Reds, giving them a 2-1 lead.

Despite out-shooting the Lady Reds 12-5 in the first half, the Flyers were down at halftime.

“They outplayed us. They deserve to win,” Flyers coach Sam Gibbs said. “They are really fast and I think we let that get in our heads a little bit.”

The Flyers came out of the second half looking to score. For most of the second half, the Flyers held the Lady Reds without a shot.

Things changed quickly in the 59th minute, when Julia Hunt got “a perfect assist from (her) twin sister,” Rachel Hunt, to make the game 3-1, Lady Reds. The goal was the first shot of the second half for the team. The teams would go on and tie at 10 shots each for the second half alone.

Laws was able to put in another goal during the 68th minute to seal the game for the Lady Reds at 4-1.

“Confidence was key,” Julia Hunt said. “Once we get the first goal, it’s game on. We just kill it and it’s awesome.”

Kamachi said his team’s celebration wouldn’t last long.

“We told the girls to enjoy the win tonight, but tomorrow we have to get ready for the next game,” he said. “In this region, if you overlook anybody, it doesn’t matter who they are, they can beat you.”

Kamachi also gave credit to the Flyers for their effort on the night saying, “(This loss) isn’t going to define their season by any means. They are a good team and are going to bounce back.”

Dixie is still in first place with 13 points, but Cedar joins Snow Canyon in second with 12 points. Cedar hosts D-Hills Thursday, while Dixie has a bye.

DESERT HILLS 8 CANYON VIEW 2

The Thunder were in control throughout the game against the Falcons. The home Thunder fans were able to see each girl on the team play for at least 10 minutes, according to Thunder coach Benji Nelson.

“We’ve been working on shooting in practice, so it’s nice to have them go in,” Nelson said.

Kodee Bracken scored one goal for the Thunder in the first half. She was followed by two goals from teammate Mallory Iverson. Tylee Bulloch added a goal for the Falcons as well to make the score 3-1 going into halftime.

The Thunder kept on rolling in the second half as Iverson was able to net two more goals for an astounding four in the game. They are Iverson’s first four goals of the season.

Tanya Crosby also scored two goals in the second half for DH, while Jess Mathis scored a goal as well.

The last Canyon View goal was not scored by a Falcons player, as the Thunder had an own goal.

Nelson said, “It’s going to be tough on Thursday at Cedar. They have the advantage playing on grass, not to mention their home field.”

D-Hills is in fifth place, but just three points out of first place with 10 total. CV, with three points, is in sixth. The Falcons host Hurricane Thursday.

SNOW CANYON 1 HURRICANE 2 (OT)

The Lady Warriors fell for the second straight game, this time on the road to the Tigers.

Arantxa Melendez scored the lone goal for the Lady Warriors, while Anna Hall and Lena Stevens netted the Tigers goals.

The Lady Warriors will look to get on track once again on Thursday when they play Pine View, which had a bye Tuesday, at home. The Tigers are in fourth place and are at Canyon View Thursday afternoon.

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Desert Hills @ Cedar, 4 p.m.
Hurricane @ Canyon View, 4 p.m.
Pine View @ Snow Canyon, 7:30 p.m.

Region 9 Standings (Region, Points, Overall)
Dixie 4-1-1, 13, 4-3-2
Snow Canyon 4-2-0, 12, 5-3-1
Cedar 4-2-0, 12, 4-6-0
Hurricane 3-1-2, 11, 5-1-2
Desert Hills 3-2-1, 10, 4-5-2|
Canyon View 1-5-0, 3, 4-5-0
Pine View 0-6-0, 0, 0-8-0

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Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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