BOUNTIFUL — Winning the Southwest Division of the Women's Premier Soccer League would've been nice.
But beating a rival for the first time doesn't feel too bad.
Heading into the final evening of the regular season Saturday, first-year club Rush Salt Lake City needed to beat in-state rival Utah, as well as have Albuquerque knock off the Denver Diamonds, to pit Utah and Denver to the division title.
Salt Lake took care of its end of the bargain, holding off the Spiders, 2-1, in thrilling fashion.
And while Denver beat Albuquerque 3-2 later that evening, wresting the title away from Rush, it was nonetheless a highly successful conclusion to Salt Lake's inaugural campaign.
Rush played a player down for most of the second half against Utah, and it showed plenty of guts to get the result.
"We came to show that we could play in this league and that we could compete," said coach M.J. Tate. "So it's a successful season no matter what, period."
Rush played very good soccer for 60 minutes and led 2-0 at that juncture, courtesy of goals by Erin Foote and Erin Dalley.
That's when the game turned on its head.
Rush defender Ashley Milliron was red-carded in the 62nd minute for violent conduct, and Salt Lake competed the final half hour a player down.
Katie Reineke pulled a goal back for the Spiders with 16 minutes to go, but Rush kept its composure and did what was necessary to hang on.
"Our backs were against the wall, as you could see," said Tate. "We lost a player and we went down to 10. And the girls just had to play together with raw energy and heart.
"Sometimes it's not pretty; it's not aesthetically pleasing. But it's effective."
Added Dalley: "After the red card, it was all about just keeping a positive spin on the game, just pumping each other up."
Utah beat Rush 3-0 when the teams met a week-and-a-half ago. However, Salt Lake more than matched its rival for large segments of that match, and Rush players entered Saturday's encounter full of confidence.
"We played better than they did," central defender Linsey McFarland said of the first meeting. "We knocked the ball around them. They're a good team, I'm not gonna say that (they weren't). But after that game, we just said, 'Forget about that game.'"
"I knew," added McFarland, "we had to play them the second time."
Meanwhile, the Spiders concluded their season with two draws and a defeat, which took the division title out of their hands.
Down 2-1, the young team created several good scoring chances but couldn't find an equalizer.
E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com