Carson Hilton has covered high school sports in Utah for the Deseret News since 2022.
Mountain Crest was the team to beat in this year’s 4A state tournament, as the Region 11 champion entered with only one loss and three future Division I players in Hadli Barrera, Bentli Barrera and Summer Sofonia all committed to Utah State.
The Mustangs just about ended Friday’s 4A championship game against Timpanogos right as they started it, with goals in the first and third minute for a 2-0 lead.
It was the opposite of Monday’s semifinal against Green Canyon, when Mountain Crest gave up a goal in the second minute and had to claw back from the early deficit.
“(Today) was a lot better,” said Mountain Crest head coach Justin Beus. “Green Canyon came out and punched us in the mouth and that’s what we wanted to come do to Timpanogos. We jumped on them quick and it was a lot nicer to play from ahead than behind.”
The first goal was scored by Mylee Myers on an assist from Hadli Barrera only 41 seconds into the title game. Only two minutes later Barrera scored on a cross to take the dominant lead.
Early 2-0 lead here in Herriman for Mountain Crest, as Mylee Myers scored in the first minute and Hadli Barrera scored in the third.
Despite its early deficit, Timpanogos had a few scrambles near Mountain Crest’s goal that could’ve been dangerous. But the Mustangs relied on their defense, which has been strong all season, to never allow a Timberwolves comeback, and a few tough saves from Hadly Glenn helped keep the Mustangs strong lead.
“Our defense is solid,” Beus said. “They’re awesome. They refuse to be scored on and it’s fun to watch.”
Instead of conceding, Mountain Crest only added to its lead as Barrera scored her second goal of the game and 34th of the season in the 47th minute for the 3-0 lead. The future Aggie also had 16 assists this season.
Hadli Barrera scores her second of the game and 34th of the year as Mountain Crest takes a 3-0 lead.
“I think it’s the team around me,” Barrera said. “They’ve really supported me and gave me good balls. All I had to do was finish them most of the time. Being able to play with all my friends has really impacted how much I scored and how good I play.”
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Mountain Crest was about to record its 13th shutout of the year, but that was taken away by a goal from Malia Jessop in the 77th minute. However, that was not nearly enough to dampen the Mustangs’ mood.
Friday’s championship is Mountain Crest’s third in four years, and the Mustangs reclaimed the throne after losing in the second round last season.
Beus said that result motivated his team to climb to the top of 4A once again.
“They were hungry,” Beus said. “They were telling me at the end of last season after we lost their last game, ‘We’re going to be back. We’re going to win it next year,’ and man, they showed up and they proved they could do it.”
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