In soccer, the difference between euphoria and a heart break can be miniscule.
Bountiful was on the side of euphoria Wednesday as it beat Region 2 rival Viewmont 4-3 in a shootout for the 5A state soccer title at Skyline High School."This is amazing," said Bountiful senior Kristy Ketton who scored one of the Braves' three regulation goals. "I've never felt this way in my life."
The win came in highly dramatic fashion. Braves' sophomore Kelly Hellewell sealed the victory by booting in the fifth shot just off the outstretched hands of keeper Marianne Gill, giving Bountiful a 5-4 edge in the shootout and the state title. Of the 10 shots between the two teams in the PK contest, only one was stopped when Bountiful's Tracy Heywood put the clamps on a ankle-high skip shot to her left.
"There was incredible pressure," Heywood said. "On the one I saved I reacted, on the others I anticipated."
After the kick, both teams went to their separate on-field huddles, Bountiful jumping and hollering with parents and the students who swarmed the field and Viewmont standing and hugging each other amid tears.
"My heart is broken just like the kids'," Viewmont coach Roger Cook said. "If we replayed the game I wouldn't do one thing different. The kids lost the game but they are still winners. It took a good team to beat us."
The Vikings controlled the game early but fell behind when Caroline Putz took a ball down the left wing and skipped a bouncer into the net. The Vikings answered back with a Monica Roundy pivot shot that arched in the far corner and then took a lead when Jamie Nielson slid and punched a ball past Heywood while the attack zone was congested giving Viewmont a 2-1 lead. With under two minutes in the half, Putz scored again, dribbling right to the keeper and sneaking a shot just under her, much like a hockey shot.
In the second half, Putz ran the sideline yet again and sent a high burner that was off the keeper's hands where Ketton nudged it in from two feet out.
"Caroline did all the work, I just put it in. It wasn't really hard," she said.
For the rest of the second half the Vikings had several good shots but didn't capitalize until just 1:30 remained in the game when Kendra Barraclough blasted the shot that sent the game to overtime.
The Vikings put heavy pressure on the Braves' defense and almost scored several times, none closer than Brittany Harlan's rocket off the crossbar, but Heywood and her defense preserved the tie and forced the shootout.
"I felt like this was our time," Putz said. "Like our other games with Viewmont, it could have gone either way."
Bountiful was outshot in regulation and in overtime by an unofficial mark of 32-12, but Bountiful coach Dave Wigham said that was never a concern for him.
"I've never been one to worry about things like shots on goal. We didn't get many, but we put them through," he said. "It was a great game between the two best teams. It was the best high school game I have seen."
Wigham never saw the final outcome because he followed an old superstition and left the field. Bountiful is is 3-0 when he doesn't watch shootouts and 0-1 when he does.
"I had no idea what was happening. That is a terrible way to decide things. We know, we have been on the other side."