DRAPER — K.C. Nordfors was the real all-star Friday night.

The former Bountiful High standout scored twice in the opening 12 minutes as the Utah Salt Ratz beat the Utah Soccer Association All-Stars 2-0 in an exhibition match.

"He's almost not human," raved assistant coach B.J. Noble about Nordfors.

Not only is Nordfors big, he's extremely athletic, has an excellent soft touch on the ball, "and on top of that he's left-footed," said Noble.

After Nordfors' early goal-scoring frenzy, complacency seemed to plague the Salt Ratz.

Even though the local local star team performed admirably in keeping the score respectable, the Salt Ratz should've dominated.

"The guys were getting a little complacent with the two-goal lead. We started standing around," said Noble. "The sign of a good team is no matter who you play you keep your intensity."

The Ratz might run into a similar problem Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when they host the Idaho Falls Lobos in another exhibition game at Juan Diego High School.

The Ratz took advantage of their break from Men's Premier Soccer League action to challenge the local all-stars, whose 17 players represent eight different teams in the state's adult soccer leagues.

The Ratz are 5-1 in their inaugural season in MPSL, a six-team amateur soccer league with teams from Arizona, Nevada and California. Most of the Salt Ratz players are college aged, and many play collegiate soccer in the fall.

Nordfors opened the scoring in the 10th minute on undoubtedly the easiest goal he's ever scored, thanks to Adam Acosta and Ryan Hansen. Acosta sprung Hansen free with a perfect long ball from the center stripe, which Hansen centered to an open Nordfors two feet from the goal.

Just over a minute later, Nordfors punished a silly mistake by an All-Stars defender as the Ratz went up 2-0.

Acosta chipped a harmless ball to the edge of the box, where Nordfors was seemingly contained. The marking defender tried stepping in front of the pass, but misjudged it creating another easy goal for Nordfors.

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Utah had plenty of chances to pad its lead, but missed nearly two dozen quality scoring chances, including a penalty kick by Kenny Hickman in the 54th minute. His blast was saved by All-Stars goalie Luiz Ramirez, who made countless other difficult saves.

"We had plenty of opportunities, we just didn't put the ball away," said Noble.

After Saturday's exhibition game, the Salt Ratz return to league action next Friday when they host the Chico Rooks. Both teams are 5-1 in the MPSL, and first place will be on the line.


E-MAIL: jedward@desnews.com

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