Prep soccer: Defending champ Flyers open region with dominant win

Written by Bob Hudson
March 29, 2016
Dixie's Jorge Bernabe (18), Dixie vs. Cedar, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 29, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Region 9’s soccer games starting counting for real now, with the first league contests taking place around the region. Dixie, which has won the 3A State Championship three of the past four seasons, opened with an easy win at home against Cedar. Snow Canyon and Desert Hills also defended their home fields with wins Tuesday night. Here’s a roundup of the action:

Dixie 5, Cedar 0

With four sophomores leading the way, Dixie began defense of its Region 9 boys soccer title with a big win over the Redmen on Tuesday.

dixie-logocedar-logoTrey Hoskins got the Flyers (1-0) started with a 30-yard blast with 25:40 left in the first half. Less than a minute later Cristian Sanchez scored Dixie’s second goal.

Roberto Bibiano and Tauri Morales each had shots go awry before Morales put a shot in from the 18-yard line.

Dixie's Av'ry Green (2) and Cedar's Ethan Fletcher (20), Dixie vs. Cedar, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 29, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie’s Av’ry Green (2) and Cedar’s Ethan Fletcher (20), Dixie vs. Cedar, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 29, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Cedar (0-1) was unable to get much going in the first half, getting three free kicks that had no effect.

In the second half, senior Conner Buehner scored with 28:11 left and Jorge Bernabe got the final goal with 6:23 remaining.

“We’re still hitting and missing,” said Dixie coach Burt Myers. “We haven’t found what we’re looking for although it may not have looked like it. Everybody made connections and made the right runs. And the whole back line communicated and made really sound decisions.”

Ethan Poulton had the shutout for the Flyers.

Cedar coach Scott Kamachi praised the play of JD Beachum and Ethan Fletcher.

“This field is so fast,” he said. “They made the right touches and we were not ready.”

Dixie (3-2-1 overall) will be at Desert Hills on Friday while Cedar (3-3-1) will entertain Snow Canyon.

Snow Canyon 4, Pine View 0

Goalkeeper Quinn Hargis had a shutout as Kevin Chillin, Angel Muniz, Yetzel Carrillo and Axel Vichi scored goals for the Warriors (1-0). Chillin and Kaden Wittwer had assists.

snow-canyon-logopine-view-logo“The back line was phenomenal,” said coach Marc Wittwer, mentioning Adrian Torres and Branson Stafford by name.

“The boys played well as a team and kept their heads,” Wittwer said.

Snow Canyon (4-3-1, 1-0-0) will be at Cedar on Friday while Pine View (3-4, 0-1) will be at Hurricane.

Desert Hills 4, Hurricane 3

Hunter Spray scored three goals, the last with four minutes left in the match, as the Thunder (1-0) outlasted the Tigers (0-1), Kanon Heaton had a goal and two assists while Bridger Nelson and Kelton Holt each had assists.

desert-hills-logohurricane-logoDuring the first half, according to coach Benji Nelson, the Thunder were in solid control, allowing no shots while scoring a pair of goals. Desert Hills went up 3-0 in the second half, but then became a victim of its own success.

“The guys got overconfident and (Hurricane) tied it,” Nelson said.

Max Gutierrez, Jeff Bjarnson and Dan Brubaker scored for the Tigers to make things interesting.

“Hurricane played hard and didn’t quit,” Nelson said.

Desert Hills (7-0, 1-0) will entertain Dixie on Friday while Hurricane (2-4, 0-1) will welcome Pine View.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob Hudson is a graduate of Brigham Young University. He has been a sportswriter in central and southern Utah and Southeast Idaho. He has also worked as a news editor and managing editor. He has lived in St. George since 2000.

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