High school girls soccer: Morgan overcomes matchup woes and wins 3A title rematch over Ogden

In each of the past three postseasons, Morgan’s championship hopes were cut short by Region 13 rival Ogden.

The Trojans fell to the Tigers in the state tournament in 2021, 2022 and 2023, with 2021 and 2023′s losses coming in the championship game.

Morgan was unwilling to lose yet another state championship at the hands of Ogden Saturday as it prevailed 2-1 over the Tigers in this year’s 3A title game.

“They’re a good team, and we go at it in our own region,” said Morgan head coach Bryan Searle. “It’s great that we get to play them, but unfortunately, (Ogden’s) Kate Foley wasn’t there. That’s a little bit of a down for them because she’s such an incredible player, but to beat them anytime, we’ll take it any day of the week.”

He continued, “It’s been four years since we’ve won it. They’ve been here a couple of times, and I think they just wanted it.”

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It didn’t take long for Morgan to get an upper hand in Saturday’s game. The Trojans pushed an early lead as Macie Burton took advantage of a free kick and put in a tough shot from about 35 yards out for a 1-0 lead.

Ogden struggled to finish on its chances, which contributed to a 1-0 halftime lead for Morgan.

The first half goal was the first that the Tigers gave up since an 11-3 win over Grantsville on Oct. 8.

Ogden calmed itself out of the half and had a golden opportunity as it was awarded a penalty kick in the 43rd minute. The Tigers’ Elle Weston stepped up and scored the equalizer to bring the score to 1-1.

Giving up a penalty kick that early in the half would’ve been devastating for many teams, but Morgan walked right back down the field to retake the single goal lead.

Morgan’s leading scorer and assister Lacie Poll placed a ball perfectly for Kendall Peterson to head it into the back of the goal, scoring the game winner.

“(Poll) and Macie Burton are some of my favorite to take corner kicks,” Peterson said. “They have perfect balls up in the air right where they need to be.”

The assist marked Poll’s 15th of the year; she also put up 34 goals this season. Poll scored or assisted in 17 games this season for Morgan.

The Idaho State commit ended her senior year with 92 career goals and 42 assists.

“It really means a lot to us,” Poll said. “We have worked our butts off the past four years. Our sophomore year, it was a bummer losing in the quarterfinals, especially to Ogden. But, finally being here and beating them, it means a lot to us because we worked so hard to get here.”

The win marked the first girl’s soccer championship for Morgan since 2020, and the team’s lost twice in the state title match since then.

This year’s championship is the fourth championship under Searle.

“Just as we started, I told the girls there was something special there and it was very similar to what we had here for other teams that won,” said Searle. “They were dedicated through the summer, through weight training, through the spring. They did what we asked them to, they worked hard in practice. Those are the characteristics that match (the other Morgan championship teams).”