Cedar stays unbeaten in region play; Snow Canyon, Desert Hills right behind – St George News

ST. GEORGE — Action on the pitch in Region 10 girls soccer is picking up as teams are figuring out their identities and are starting to put together some wins.

Three matches from around the area on Thursday saw Crimson Cliffs, Cedar and Desert Hills all post victories. 

With a 4-0 region record to start the season, the Cedar Reds are at the top of the standings as the only unbeaten team in region play. The Reds handed the Snow Canyon Warriors their first region loss in Cedar City on Thursday afternoon.

Following are recaps of recent Region 10 contests, starting with Thursday’s:

Crimson Cliffs 3, Dixie 0

Slowly but surely, the Mustangs are finding themselves.

The Crimson Cliffs girls soccer team lost a heartbreaker in the 4A state championship game last year and struggled to find their winning ways early in this season.

After Thursday night’s convincing win over the Flyers, however, Crimson won its second consecutive Region 10 game by shutout and appears to be rounding into last year’s form.

“We had a really rough start to the season, we weren’t expecting that,” Mustangs coach Kat Esplin told St. George News after the win. “We had a lot of injuries and just not coming together as a team. We’re starting to figure it out and it’s really rewarding.”

The game played out in midfield for much of the contest as both teams tried to find ways to pass and possess the ball.

The Mustangs broke through for a score in the first half and two more in the second.

“How we played tonight, this is who we are,” Esplin said. “We can win just as much (as last year) but we’re going to do it in a little different way and figure out how that works for us. These guys have been doing it and I’m super proud of them.”

Crimson Cliffs improved to 3-7 overall and 2-3 in Region 10 play. They next host Snow Canyon Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Dixie fell to 1-8 overall, 1-3 in Region 10. The Flyers host Pine View on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Cedar 4, Snow Canyon 3

At Cedar, the Reds built a 2-1 halftime lead, then stayed at least one goal ahead of the Warriors throughout the second half.

Keanna Tolman scored two goals for Cedar and assisted on the other two, as Rylan Tebbs and Kenzie Bird each netted a goal.

For the Warriors, Lilly Wittwer scored twice and Lottie Smith added another goal.

“I thought our young team handled the pressure well today,” said Cedar head coach Scott Kamachi, whose team improved to 6-1 overall, 4-0 in region play.

The Reds next play at Desert Hills Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, Snow Canyon saw its record drop to 5-3 overall, 3-1 in region play. The Warriors host Hurricane Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.

Desert Hills 2, Hurricane 1

The Thunder rallied from a 1-nil deficit at halftime to defeat the scrappy Tigers.

Desert Hills remained in second place in Region 10, moving to 3-1 and 6-3 overall. The Thunder hosts Cedar in a big Region 10 game Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.

Hurricane has won two games in Region 10 play, both in overtime, and is 2-3 in region, 3-5 overall. 

The Tigers play at Snow Canyon Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.

Last Thursday’s games (Aug. 25)

Hurricane 0, Crimson Cliffs 0 (Hurricane wins shootout 6-5)

After 100 scoreless minutes at Crimson Cliffs, the visiting Hurricane Tigers prevailed in a tiebreaking shootout, converting six penalty kick shots to the Mustangs’ five.

Desert Hills 5, Pine View 0

At Pine View, the Desert Hills Thunder shut out the Panthers. Read St. George News’ story about the game here.

Snow Canyon 2, Dixie 1 (2OT)

Snow Canyon and Dixie, tied 1-1 since the first half, battled all the way into the second 10-minute overtime before Makayla Matthews of the Warriors scored the game-winner.

Tuesday’s games (Aug. 30)

Cedar 5, Hurricane 1

At Hurricane, Keanna Tolman and Rylan Tebbs scored two goals apiece for Cedar and teammate Kenzie Bird added another as the Reds defeated the Tigers.

Snow Canyon 2, Desert Hills 1 (OT)

At Desert Hills, the Snow Canyon Warriors got a sudden-victory goal in overtime from Jolee Irvin. The game was tied 1-1 at halftime, with Kamri Yorgenson of Desert Hills and Lottie Smith of Snow Canyon each scoring a goal.

Crimson Cliffs 3, Pine View 0

At Crimson Cliffs, the Mustangs shut out the Pine View Panthers. Crimson Cliffs got one goal apiece from Brinly Meadows, Paisley Hinton and Isabella Cotter.

St. George News Sports reporter JEFF RICHARDS contributed to this article.

Region 10 girls soccer standings, as of Sept. 2 (region, overall)

1. Cedar, 4-0, 6-1.
2. Desert Hills, 3-1, 6-3.
3. Snow Canyon, 3-1, 5-3.
4. Hurricane, 2-3, 3-5.
5. Crimson Cliffs, 2-3, 3-7.
6. Dixie, 1-3, 1-8.
7. Pine View, 0-4, 1-6.

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