Here’s a recap of the two 4A girls soccer semifinals that were held at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, with No. 1 Mountain Crest and No. 3 Timpanogos each advancing to Friday’s 4A championship game.


Mountain Crest 2, Green Canyon 1

Disaster struck early for Mountain Crest as Green Canyon’s Chloe Chambers volleyed a ball over Mustang’s keeper Hadly Glenn in the second minute for a 1-0 lead in the 4A semifinal.

The early defensive breakdown was uncharacteristic of Mountain Crest, which has been strong defensively this season. It has only allowed seven goals all year excluding a blowout loss to Farmington in August.

Despite the early deficit, Mountain Crest scored twice in the first half and took the 2-1 semifinal victory to earn a chance at reclaiming the 4A championship throne. The Mustangs won the 4A title in 2021 and 2022.

“For 20 minutes it was more than we could handle,” said Mountain Crest head coach Justin Beus. “They came at us, and they were they were a little more prepared to start the game than we were. We we’re lucky to get out of there with only one goal scored on us honestly.”

Green Canyon’s offense was crisp early in the first half with strong passes and controlled balls, yet the Mustang’s defense didn’t break again and kept the Wolves at bay.

Mountain Crest didn’t retaliate until the 26th minute as Summer Sofonia took a free kick, which was deflected into the top crossbar by Wolves’ Ruby Jewkes. Mustang’s Hadli Barrera was in the right place at the right time to head the ricocheted ball back into the net to tie the game 1-1.

“Summer is very good at (free kicks), so I was supprised that Ruby (Jewkes) got a hand on it because Summer makes a lot of those,” Barrera said. “I just knew that I had to be there and get a touch on it and it was gonna go in.”

It didn’t take long for Mountain Crest to score again off another set piece in the 35th minute. It bounced around forwrads and defenders near the goal line, but Mustang’s Tara Niemann got the final touch on the ball to put it in the goal.

“That was that was kind of like a team goal,” Barrera said. “Everyone just spread in to finish it, which is what we worked on practice because we’ve had a lot of those in our seasons that we’re just letting go and no one crashed to finish.”

Mountain Crest played a strong defensive second half to keep Green Canyon scoreless. The Mustangs had a few chances to run up the score but came up just short.

The semifinal win is the third time Mountain Crest beat Green Canyon this season, which Beus knows how difficult it is to accomplish.

“They’re such a quality team,” said Beus. “Good coach, good squad, it’s hard to beat those guys and we we were able to do it three times this year. I’m proud of the girls.”

Related
Related

Timpanogos 1, Snow Canyon 0

Timpanogos is no stranger to defensive heavy games and its experience was necessary in Monday’s semifinal game against Snow Canyon.

Both defenses played tight and didn’t give many chances, but one score was enough as the Timberwolves took the close 1-0 win over Snow Canyon in the 4A semifinals. It was the 10th shutout of the year for the Timberwolves.

“These girls just never quit fighting,” said Timpanogos head coach Robyn Bretzing. “They just keep staying in the game. Even though they’re struggling, they’re just finding that way to push through and end up getting a goal.”

Monday’s semifinal stayed at a 0-0 stalemate for almost 60 minutes. Timpanogos had some close chances, but each were narrowly missed.

The best chane the TImberwolves had in the first half was a shot by Malia Jessop, but it was placed slightly too wide and hit the crossbar. Snow Canyon’s keeper Tori Martin didn’t make life any easier on the Timpanogos offense with multiple tough saves.

A chance came in the 57th minute, as a foul against Snow Canyon gave Timpangos a free kick at midfield. Timberwolves centerback Raeley Searle got her second assist of the season, placing the ball infront of the goal for Jessop to head in.

Jessop had a few good chances, but her breakthrough was enough to take the semifinal win.

View Comments

“It’s frustrating when you can’t finish two opportunities,” said Jessop. “You have to turn around and just think, ‘I will create another chance to score.’ It’s about bouncing back, not necessarily being content.”

“It’s amazing. It’s just a sense of relief. It’s not over, but (we) got past one more step to make it to our ultimate goal.”

Timpanogos clinched its first championship appearance since 2017 and has a chance to win its first state championship since 2014. The Timberwolves had a chance at championship appearances in 2021 and 2022, but lost by one goal each time to Skyline, which won the championship both years.

“We’re excited,” said Bretzing. “These girls have been fighting for it all year long. Some games they play so smooth and everything clicks, but today we were having a hard time connecting passes and really finding our flow.”

Join the Conversation
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.