WEST JORDAN — The kick was nothing short of amazing.
Playing in penalty time, and down 2-1 to Fremont in the first round of the 5A state soccer playoffs, Copper Hills' Carlos Vargas put his foot into an indirect kick just short of the midfield line. The ball sailed high in the air, descended just over the outstretched arms of Fremont goalie Preston Taylor, and proceeded to find the back of the net.
The Grizzlies erupted in celebration — believing Vargas had accomplished the impossible and extra time was on the horizon.
But it wasn't to be, turns out.
Due to the nature of an indirect kick, and officials judging Taylor didn't touch the ball, the goal was disallowed. Copper Hills protested, believing the ball was actually touched by Taylor, while the Silverwolves let out a big sigh of relief.
"(The official) made the call, and (Copper Hills) has to live with it, and we feel fortunate. But they made the call. What do you do?" said Fremont coach Fred Smith.
According to Taylor, the call made was the correct one.
"I'm glad I didn't touch it," Taylor said. "It floated a lot more than I expected it to, and it held in the air. So when it came to me I was a little surprised and caught off-guard."
Catching Taylor off-guard proved a tough task for Copper Hills for most of Tuesday's contest, however. The junior keeper deflected most everything kicked his way, as the Silverwolves walked away with a 2-1 win.
Also standing out for Fremont was senior forward Hunter Behm, who was credited with both goals scored.
Behm's first goal came with just over five minutes played in the first half. After a bit of a scrum in front of the goal, Behm received the ball right in front of the net and kicked it through with little effort.
"That's just a team effort," Behm said of his first goal. "I'll take luck, on just a flick there to finish it. … I was going to let it go in, but the circumstances of the game — I'm not going to just be like, 'oh hey, let's see if it goes in.'"
Behm's second goal came shortly after the start of the second half off a deft pass from Alec Ferrin just ahead of Copper Hills' final two defenders. Behm split those defenders and put the ball into the back of the net.
"It was beautiful ball work up the center of the field," Behm said. "It was a beautiful (pass) and my team (trusted) me to put it away."
The Grizzlies responded about 15 minutes later, with Aaron Nixon scoring a goal off a cross from Jaden Paul to cut the lead to just 2-1 at the 59-minute mark.
From there, Copper Hills threatened but came up just short as Fremont moves on to the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs, where it will take on Herriman.
"It wasn't a pretty game by any means from either team," Smith said. "Hunter played hard, and there's a lot of other players who played really well. Our defenders really stepped up and our goalie made some great saves."
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney