Its extremely rare that Springville has been able to say a state championship is reasonably within reach. The Red Devils have only had two total semifinal appearances since girls soccer became a sanctioned sport in Utah 1989, in 2008 and 2009.
But for the first time in 16 years and just the third time in program history, Springville is now headed to the state semifinals. It has Sage Conrad to thank as she punched in two goals in the 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Region 7 co-champion Timpview on Thursday.
Springville will get yet another first on Tuesday as it will play against Bountiful at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman for the first time.
“Oh, it’s so special,” Springville head coach Todd Hollingshead said. “I wanted so much for them to have that special experience. In fact, at the beginning of the year, we made some goals. As a team, we made a goal to win region, and we did that. We had a goal for how many goals we wanted to score, and we did that and then one of our goals was to make it to Zions Bank field, and we did that.
“There’s power in making goals, and then working for those. I’m so happy for the girls to have something special like that they worked for, they earned, and now they get to go experience that.”
It was pretty much a picture perfect game from start to finish for the Red Devils. After a 3-0 loss to the Thunderbirds in late August, Springville improved and handed Timpview a shutout of its own.
While Conrad was the star of the quarterfinal with her goals, Springville as a whole played up to the level expected of a 5A state semifinalist.
Its defense in particular was a boon in the win, as goalkeeper Caroline Penrod had a handful of defensive stops to keep the shutout alive.
Offensively, the Red Devils struck first in the 18th minute. The play started with a pass from Kayla Bunnell over the Timpview back line, and Conrad took control and finished it for the opening goal.
“It was a perfect pass from my teammate, Kayla Bunnell,” Conrad said. “She just chipped it right over the defender. I happened to be there to take a touch and then just put in the net.”
With how well Springville was playing and taking care of the ball the one goal lead felt like quite a lot, so when Conrad scored again just three minutes into the second half it felt devastating for Timpview.
This time Conrad showed her ability to score off a free kick. The Red Devils were awarded a foul about 25 yards from the goal, and Conrad delivered with her second goal of the night.
“My only goal was to keep it on frame because even if I don’t make it, a teammate can make it,” She said. “But, in that case it just happened to go in. It was a good moment.
“Obviously, it feels good to score, but it feels good to also see my other teammates succeeding and playing well in this game as well. I think this is by far one of my favorite games that we’ve won.”
Timpview fought to the end and had a handful of solid chances to score in the second half, but Penrod kept it scoreless.
Springville now prepares for its third-ever semifinal appearance Tuesday against Bountiful. The Redhawks knocked off top-seeded Kearns 6-0 to earn their semifinal spot.
“I’m proud the girls worked really hard all season, conditioning, putting in the extra work so they could finish games, but they’re playing for each other,” Hollingshead said.
“They’re playing as a team and that’s what we try to emphasize. Play for the girl next to you and they do it, and you can see that they play as a team. They’ve won as a team, and the nice thing is that they’re playing their best soccer at the right time.”