SOUTH JORDAN — After playing reasonably well during the first half of its tilt with rival Bingham Friday afternoon, Riverton's decent work was rewarded in the 40th minute with a goal from Ben Dietrich.
At halftime, coach Paul Mozier instructed his players to treat the contest as if it was still tied; he wanted them to stay aggressive and make sure they didn't have to defend for 40 minutes.
The second half was vastly different than what Mozier and the Silverwolves wanted, but they got the job done anyway. Riverton spent most of the second half pinned inside its own half, but the defense and goalkeeper withstood Bingham's pressure and the Silverwolves escaped with a 1-0 win.
"The first half we played pretty well," said Mozier. "In the second half we held on pretty well for dear life . . 40 minutes is a long time to defend, as we found out."
The win helped Riverton stay atop the early Region 3 table with six points. Meanwhile, Bingham, one of the preseason favorites to win the region championship, fell to 0-2 in league play.
To Riverton's credit, despite the fact they didn't have much possession in the second half, they didn't come under heavy pressure until the final ten minutes.
Bingham had several scoring chances during that period, but Riverton stayed compact in defense and hung on for its third ever win over the Miners.
The Miners' best chance fell to Todd Hardy in the 75th minute — his majestic header thundered off the cross bar. Scoring opportunities also fell to Derek Westegaard and Trent Bradshaw.
All in all, it took a fairly solid defensive effort to keep Bingham off the scoreboard. Riverton defenders Brant Harsh and Tyler Arens played particularly well, and sophomore Zach Dunn was solid in goal.
What was the key to Riverton's defensive effort?
"It's about intensity," said Harsh. " . . . I think we had desire to win the game."
Friday's lone goal came just before halftime. After Nate Swank was hauled down inside the box, Dietrich calmly stepped up and drilled the penalty kick past Bingham's goalie.
Both Riverton and Bingham have aspirations for winning the Region 3 title, and in that sense, the early advantage goes to the Silverwolves.
"It puts us in a good position," said Mozier.
In other action Friday:
REGION 2
SKYLINE 3, TAYLORSVILLE 1:Max Malmquist scored twice and Ian Huntsberger added another tally as the Eagles won their first league game. Jared Trussell had a late consolation strike for Taylorsville.
ALTA 3, HILLCREST 1:Aaron Weymann defended the pipes for the Hawks, while Colby Swensen scored on a corner in the second half. Blake Tillotson bounced a free kick off his chest for a score, while Garrett Losee pushed the ball in after a pass for the first goal. Mitch Edmunds scored the lone goal for the Huskies.
REGION 3
COPPER HILLS 0, WEST JORDAN 0 (2OT): The Grizzlies and Jaguars played to a scoreless draw in Region 3 play. James Conrad provided stellar goaltending for West Jordan.
HUNTER 4, KEARNS 1:Dennis Sellis found the net twice and Jace Broadbent and Myner Escobar each chipped in with goals as the Wolverines downed the Cougars for their first region victory. Miguel Rodrigues scored for the Cougars in the loss.
REGION 4
MOUNTAIN VIEW 1, PLEASANT GROVE 0:Mike Moreno followed up on Dustin Graham's shot for the lone goal in the first half as Michael Chesler and the Bruin defense shutout the Vikings.
REGION 5
WOODS CROSS 1, BOX ELDER 0:Blake Cope scored on a corner to give the Wildcats the edge while Matt Jensen and Jordan Petersen shared the shutout. Eight Woods Cross players were missing from action due to a trip to California.
BOUNTIFUL 2, MOUNTAIN CREST 1:Doug Clark scored twice to help the Braves edge the Mustangs. The Mustangs' Cory Collins scored late in the second half to break the Braves' shutout attempt.
REGION 6
WEST 7, CYPRUS 0:Jose Segura had a hat trick, while Mark Bennett and Drew Fuller shared the shutout for the Panthers.
GRANGER 2, COTTONWOOD 1:Usiel Roman and Juan Miranda provided the scoring for the Lancers, while Mario Duvnjak scored the lone goal for the Colts. Cameron Anfinsem defended the net for Granger.
HIGHLAND 4, MURRAY 0: The Rams received scoring from four different players and Bewar Yousif collected the shutout as Highland improved to 5-1 in region play.
REGION 9
PINE VIEW 2, SNOW CANYON 0:Francisco Martinez got the shutout in the net while Ricarsdo Saenz and Eric DeMille netted the two goals in the Panthers' win.
CEDAR 3, CANYON VIEW 3 (2OT): Each team had their chances in the overtime sessions, but the match ended in a tie, with Josh Wright and Brenden Stucker the goalies for the Falcons and Redmen, respectively. Matt Hansen scored twice for Cedar, while Keith Remington found the back of the net twice for Canyon View.
DIXIE 3, HURRICANE 1:Sam Dixon scored the first goal on an assist from Chantry Palmer, followed by goals from Travis Del Toro and David Higgins. Justin Day scored the lone goal for the Tigers, while Andrew Reading was the winning goalie.
REGION 10
WASATCH 3, UINTAH 1:Thor Brown picked up the hat trick as the Wasps edged the host Utes. Derek Bunderson scored with 15 minutes remaining to break up Kurtis Kraatz's shutout attempt.
REGION 11
BEAR RIVER 8, GRANTSVILLE 0:Seth Hansen, Wade Hirschi and Nick Celaya each scored twice as the Bears improved to 5-1 in league play. Derek Miller and Tanner Chadez both had one strike. Meanwhile, Jordan Bird and Brady Munns shared the shutout.
OGDEN 3, BEN LOMOND 2: Trailing 2-1, Nick Smock and Logan Toupin responded with second-half goals as the Tigers beat their arch rival. Nelson Duran also scored for Ogden, while Junior Garcia and Azarel Castaneda each had one goal for Ben Lomond.
LOGAN 5, TOOELE 1:Five Grizzlies found the back of the net while Brad Heugly was the winning goalie as Logan improved to 10-0 overall.
REGION 14
ST. JOSEPH 1, WATERFORD 0:Giusseppi Cuminetti set up Joe Puskedra for the lone goal in the 50th minute as fourth-ranked St. Joseph won the battle of Region 14's two top squads. Defensively, Taylor Gallegos and Eli Kenny helped keeper Mark Howerton notch his fourth shutout.
MILLARD 4, SOUTH SUMMIT 2: The Eagles took a 3-0 lead into halftime, coasting to an easy victory over the Wildcats. Justin Wall scored a hat trick for Millard.
NONREGION
GRANITE 2, ROWLAND HALL 1:Paul Carranza scored the go-ahead goal with 15 minutes remaining to boost the Farmers over the Winged Lion. Pedro Curiel put the Farmers up a goal at halftime but Jarred Accetura scored to tie the game.
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