Region 9 soccer: Warriors impressive as region play begins

Written by Kurt Meacham
August 23, 2017
Snow Canyon's Ashley Brindley (17) and Pine View's Brooklyn Hosner (8), Pine View vs. Snow Canyon, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Aug. 22, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST GEORGE — Region 9 girls soccer is back. Tuesday had two different nail biters, and one blowout. If there is one thing to be learned from this first day of play, it is to expect the unexpected. Here is a recap of all the action:

SNOW CANYON 7 PINE VIEW 0

The Warriors opened up region play by slaying the Panthers 7-0 at Panther Stadium.

Snow Canyon came out fast and strong in the first half, taking 16 shots. Ten of those were shots on goal while three of those were goals.

“We stress in our practices pace of play,” said SC coach Kenny Kunde, “We really try to get the girls to play at a faster pace.”

Overall, the Warriors out-shot the Panthers 29-9 in the game. The Warriors also had 11 shots on goal compared to the Panthers two.

Kunde also said getting the whole team involved was important.

Snow Canyon’s Rachel Bunting (25) and Pine View’s Alli Schenck (7), Pine View vs. Snow Canyon, Girls Soccer, St. George, UT, Aug. 22, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“Our first two goals came from defenders,” he said. “We really stress our defenders to not just hang back on defense and be spectators in the game. We want them to get up and get involved in the attack.”

The first goal was scored by Samantha Lindsey on a free kick from 38-yards out in the ninth minute of the game. Just six minutes later, Sekada Burchinal found the back of the net for her first goal this season.

“Sekada’s goal was one of my favorite tonight,” said Lindsey “She is a great player and it was really good for her to get that goal to show her that she is good enough to be starting and that she can keep shooting and make those [shots].”

Junior Ashley Brindley finished the first half scoring in the 36th minute as the Warriors took a 3-0 lead into halftime.

The second half started off with sophomore Heidi Smith scoring in the 28th minute. Only four minutes later, the Warriors had a shot deflect off the top crossbar back to Smith, who put the ball in for her second goal of the game.

Arantxa Melendez and Tylei Jensen finished the Warriors onslaught in the 69th and 75th minutes, respectively.

“We always want to start region good whoever we play.” Kunde said.

SC, 2-1-1 overall and 1-0-0 in region, hosts Desert Hills Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Pine View, 0-3-0 and 0-1-0, is at Dixie.

DESERT HILLS 1, CEDAR 0

Kodee Bracken scored the game-winning goal for the Thunder in the 72nd minute in the tight affair at Thunder Stadium.

The Desert Hills defense and goalkeeper Riane Hall kept the clean sheet for the full 80 minutes (plus stoppage time) as the Thunder improved to 2-3-1 overall and 1-0-0 in Region 9.

The win gives the Thunder a four game winning streak against the Lady Reds.

DH, 2-3-1 overall and 1-0-0 in region, visits Snow Canyon Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Cedar, 0-5-0 and 0-1-0, plays host to cross-town rival Canyon View Thursday at 4 p.m. 

HURRICANE 2, CANYON VIEW 1 (F/2 OT)

Kylee Stevens and Madison Hirschi scored the two goals to help the Tigers edge the Falcons in a crazy, double overtime game.

The Falcon loss also spoiled their return to Region 9 play.

“It’s a game we could have won,” said Falcons head coach Mark Comstock. “We had some calls that didn’t go our way. It was a good old Region 9 battle.”

Morgan Haag was the only Falcon player to score, though it was her 10th goal of the season.

Hurricane, 3-0-0 overall and 1-0-0 in region, is off until next week. Canyon View, 3-1-0 and 0-1-0, is at Cedar Thursday at 4 p.m.

Thursday’s matches:
Canyon View @ Cedar 4 p.m.
Pine View @ Dixie, 7:30 p.m.
Desert Hills @ Snow Canyon 7:30 p.m.

Region 9 Standings (region, points, overall)
Hurricane 1-0-0, 3, 3-0-0
Snow Canyon 1-0-0, 3, 2-1-1
Desert Hills 1-0-0, 3, 2-3-1
Dixie 0-0-0, 0, 0-1-0
Canyon View 0-1-0, 0, 3-1-0
Pine View 0-1-0, 0, 0-3-0
Cedar 0-1-0, 0, 0-5-0

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kurt grew up in Pleasant Grove, Utah near Provo and attended Utah Valley University for two years. Kurt now lives in Cedar City, Utah and is a current student at Southern Utah University studying Communications with an emphasis in Media Studies. Kurt was also part of the sports broadcasting program, PGSN, at Pleasant Grove High School.

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