High school girls soccer: Herriman continues to prove a Region 2 threat in win over Copper Hills

Over the past four years Herriman girls soccer has consistently been a middle-of-the-road team. It last won a region title in 2020 with an 8-1 region record, but between 2021-2024 the Mustangs put together a total season record of 18-27. So, when Herriman was ranked fourth in this years Region 2 preseason poll it wasn’t much of a surprise.

The Mustangs knew what they had, however, and now seem to be having a coming out party as they have sole control of the top spot of Region 2 with a 6-0 region record after a close 1-0 victory over Copper Hills on Tuesday.

“You can’t always control how well you play but you can control how hard, and I think when you’re kind of overlooked, it does help,” Herriman head coach Ryan Rumfallo said. “It does provide a little motivation, especially for girls that have been here for three years and we haven’t had as much success. We haven’t been at the bottom, we haven’t been top. We’ve always just been right in the middle.”

Herriman has had a solid two weeks as it currently holds a five-game win streak with victories over Region 2 favorites like Riverton, Mountain Ridge and Copper Hills. And for most of Tuesday’s win, it looked more dominant than the 1-0 score would suggest.

The singular goal of the game was scored early, in just the seventh minute, as Herriman’s Brooke Rasmussen kicked a well-placed ball ahead for Kaylee Carlson to finish.

“Brooke flipped it perfectly right to me between the two defenders, and I was able to get off of my knee right in front of me and finish it close,” Carlson said.

While Herriman was unable to find the back of the net for the rest of the afternoon, it had more than enough chances to stretch out its lead. In the first half alone, three different shots hit off the crossbar and a few more went just wide or high.

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While Herriman certainly would’ve liked to finish on more of those opportunities, it put a lot of pressure on Copper Hills in what was a close game. Carlson’s early goal especially made every minute without a Copper Hills goal seem more important.

“It definitely gave us the boost that we needed to keep fighting throughout the half and throughout the game,” Carlson said. “Even though we had some close opportunities, it was good that we were able to get a goal up and have the advantage.”

With about 15 minutes left in the game Herriman’s legs started to get tired and Copper Hills did its best to pressure the Mustangs’ defense.

While the end of the game was not quite as clean as the rest, Herriman held on without giving up many good chances to the Grizzlies.

“You just have to survive sometimes,” Rumfallo said. “The fact that the girls dug their heels in and did what they needed to do. I was really happy with their effort.”

While some might be surprised at Herriman’s rise in Region play, Rumfallo and his coaching staff are not. The Mustangs are a relatively young team but brought back a lot of experience from last year.

“We had a lot of returners and I think last year they experienced what it was like to finish in the middle and I just challenged them at the beginning of the year that, ‘Every game is a big game,’” Rumfallo said. “I think if you do play with the chip on your shoulder, it does give you a little motivation. We knew, my coaching staff and I, what we’re capable of.”

Now with a 6-0 region record with just eight region games remaining, Herriman is in prime position to win its first region title since 2020.