OREM — The Orem girls soccer team put itself back where it wanted to be on Thursday — in the Region 7 driver's seat. The Tigers won the first meeting with their major contender, Springville, 2-1 and are now sitting as the only undefeated team in the region.

Now, it's just a matter of hanging on to the one-game lead, meaning as big as Thursday's game was, the matches will only get more important from here on.

"They're all big," said Orem coach Ed Louder.

On Wednesday, the team got together for an informal pizza party to relax and get in a positive mind-set for the game. The cheese and tomato sauce must have done the trick. Orem came straight out from the kickoff and took the lead in a matter of seconds.

In the first minute, Anne Shallenberger placed a shot high on frame from 25 yards out that made it over the leaping goalkeeper.

Springville certainly didn't expect to be down a goal in the opening minute, and the early deficit clearly shook the team up. It spent the better part of the first half scrambling around just trying to keep Orem from widening the gap, while the Tigers terrorized the midfield and could have easily scored a second goal.

"It was huge," said Louder of the early goal. "In the end it made the difference in the game."

Shallenberger and Kaitlyn Thomas both had shots hit the cross bar after the 'keeper was beaten. With help from the woodwork, Springville stayed within a score, found its feet and pressed for an equalizer in the second half.

The tying score came in the 57th minute when freshman Autumn Woods was played through the middle and settled her shot in the box between two pressing defenders.

That goal could have turned the tide of things, but Thomas won the game seven minutes later on a difficult shot from her wing position.

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The senior midfielder dribbled toward the goal line from the left side looking to cross the ball, but saw an opportunity when the goalkeeper stepped off her line. Thomas chipped the ball into the far side of the goal from the tight angle to put her team up for good.

"Usually I cross it in," said Thomas. "I just lobbed it in. I was glad. It put a lot of pressure off our team. We knew this was going to be our toughest game."

With the lead secure, Orem ran the final quarter of an hour off the clock without giving Springville another good scoring opportunity.

"This team's pretty resilient," said Louder. "We always counter. The girls know how to get the ball in the back of the net."

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