HIGHLAND — Desperation had not quite set in for Lone Peak. But the Knights could not deny that they were in a precarious situation going up against Hillcrest.
A surprising loss against American Fork last week had imbued a typical Region 4 soccer game against the Huskies with a playoff-level intensity. Without a victory, Lone Peak's chances of reserving its customary spot in the 5A tournament would take a potentially fatal blow.
"We kind of dug ourselves into a hole and we really needed to win this game," sophomore halfback Maris Hamblin said.
With several starters sidelined because of injuries, it fell on Hamblin's shoulders to make the plays needed to get three points. The sophomore rose to the occasion, scoring on a header in the 62nd minute to lift the Knights to a 1-0 victory over Hillcrest on Tuesday afternoon.
Allie Hale set up the scoring play when she swung a corner kick into Hamblin, who was stationed inside the 6-yard box. From there, Hamblin got her head on the ball and slotted it perfectly between the right post and Huskies goalkeeper McKayla Poulsen for the game's only goal.
It brought a measure of redemption for Hamblin after she could not convert a penalty kick against Poulsen in the first half. She lined up for the kick in the 24th minute and tried to curl the ball around Poulsen's left side. Poulsen, however, timed her reaction perfectly. She blocked the shot as it neared the line and blocked a second attempt from Hamblin after she collected the ball as it bounced off the turf and back toward her.
"I felt bad after missing it because the girl who pulled the PK worked so hard for it," Hamblin said.
Both teams experienced their share of missed scoring opportunities. Lone Peak averted disaster in the 12th minute when Knights goalkeeper Mauri Dennis misread a long ball and let it bounce over her head as she came out to grab it. Huskies junior Ashley Means came barreling in from the right post to finish off what looked to be a chip-shot goal, but Hamblin came to the rescue and cleared it off the line at the last minute.
Lone Peak had a good chance to unfold in the 49th minute when McKenzie Evans started a counterattack from midfield to set up a one-on-one situation with Poulsen. She got off a shot before Jaime Mettenet could close in from behind, but Poulsen made a fantastic block to keep the Knights off the scoreboard.
Hillcrest's best chance for a goal came in the 58th minute when Sadie Olsen beat Dennis on a challenge and had an open net ahead of her. Olsen could not get turned around in time to get a clean shot before the Knights' defense collapsed in on her.
Defense came to the rescue for Lone Peak on a day where leading scorer McKenna Fox, starting keeper Ravin King, center midfielder Brooke McDonald and senior forward Katie Lohner were all sidelined with injuries.
"We were really going to the ball well," Knights coach Mike LaHargoue said. "We tried to not let them turn and get a good look at the goal. That was the biggest thing. We did play a lot of defense today and that was kind of — going in — the theme."
Lone Peak should get reinforcements to its lineup soon with both Fox and Lohner expected to be back in action within a week.
e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com