WASHINGTON TERRACE — It only takes a flash for the best strikers to change the result of a soccer game. Defenders may shadow them throughout the match. They might not get any service from the midfield.

But, present them with a single goal-scoring opportunity, and they'll get you the goal that grabs you a result.

At the Utah high school level, there arguably isn't anyone better at that than Weber senior Andrew Morris.

Morris made the difference for No. 4 Weber against Bonneville in nonregion action Thursday afternoon. He scored twice as the Warriors won 4-2 despite being outplayed by Bonneville most of the second half.

"It's nice because you know anytime he gets the ball he's dangerous" explained coach Kenny Beus.

Morris' second goal, which came in the 82nd minute, finally killed off the game. Weber held a tenuous 3-2 lead for most of the second half, but when Trevor Chambers headed a corner toward goal, it fell to Morris, who swept it into the net.

Morris has notched ten goals through eight matches, which places him second among 5A goal scorers.

Because both teams were missing key personnel, Thursday's nonregion encounter provided both teams with an opportunity to give some of their inexperienced players significant varsity time. Two starters and three other varsity players were missing from Weber's line-up, while Bonneville played without star midfielder Jesse Kupfer.

A nine-minute stretch early in the first half ultimately decided the contest. After Andy Cornia scored for the Lakers inside two minutes, Weber roared back with three goals in nine minutes. Jacob Greaves, Morris and Chris Capener each scored once during that time.

Trailing 3-1, Bonneville began to turn things around. Cornia pulled a goal back early in the second half, but, despite winning a bevy of corner kicks, they were unable to equalize the score.

"It was a good thing the kids came back in the second," said Bonneville coach Mike Hickman.

Meanwhile, Weber continues to put up big offensive numbers. That was the Warriors' big problem last year — they were fairly solid defensively but only scored 26 times in 17 games. This season, they've already bagged 22 goals and are averaging 2.75 goals-per-game, which is second among 5A squads.

"It's going uphill," Morris said of Weber's season.

In other soccer action:

REGION 4

AMERICAN FORK 3, PLEASANT GROVE 1:

LONE PEAK 3, SPANISH FORK 0: The Knights jumped out to an early lead and rolled to an easy win, improving to 3-0 in region play. Cody Wilson posted two goals for Lone Peak in the victory.

MOUNTAIN VIEW 1, TIMPANOGOS 0: The Bruins recorded their seventh shutout of the season, blanking the Timberwolves and impoving to 4-0 in region play. Dustin Graham scored the lone goal for Mountain View.

REGION 7

TIMPVIEW 4, LEHI 1: Salomon Jaar netted two goals for the Thunderbirds as they stretched their unbeaten region record to five games.

OREM 1, SPRINGVILLE 0: Kyle Turner's goal came off a corner kick and Brad Howard earned the shutout for the Tigers.

PROVO 1, PAYSON 0: Chris Dinehart split the pipes for the lone goal as the Bulldogs earned their ninth win on the season, while Justin Piatt recorded the shutout.

View Comments

REGION 9

SNOW CANYON 2, CEDAR 0: Andrew Belmont made some huge saves between the pipes for Snow Canyon, earning his first shutout of the season. Lucas Yates and Mike Palacios scored for the Warriors in the winning effort.

REGION 17

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE 12, MOUNT VERNON 0: Colten Kley paced the Crusaders with five goals, while Chandler Jordana added two more scores. Derek Dessel and Aaron Solberg each had two assists, while Shaun Sandman and Kevin Langford shared goalkeeping duties.

Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.