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Show Sentinel Guardian of Your Community News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 • A9 MM soccer splits games James Hardman STAFF WRITER The Maple Mountain Golden Eagles recently went through one of their toughest weeks of ladies soccer, defeating Uintah 1-0, and losing to Springville 8-1. On Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, Uintah came to the Golden Eagles' home field, playing a very close game. Keeping the game scoreless in the first half, Uintah's goalie was exceptional, blocking several shots from the Golden Eagles. "There were so many opportunities," said Coach Swenson. "We were hustling and we had persever- ance, but we just didn't finish/' With about three minutes left in the game Maple Mountain's Jessica Blackett came and scored the only goal of the game, putting Maple Mountain ahead of Uintah 1-0. "A win against Uintah is good. Uintah's a great team," Swenson said. Later that week Maple .Mountain played another tough team in Region 8. On Thursday Sept. 24, Maple Mountain traveled to Springville, only to come back empty-handed. Springville quickly eclipsed the Golden Eagles, leading 5-0 at the half. Near the beginning of the second half, Maple Mountain's BayleeNielsen scored the lone goal for Maple Mountain. "Baylee played good for us today," said Swenson. "Also Jayci Peay in the backfield played hard for us as well." Although Maple Mountain's morale rose, they couldn't quite get another goal. "It was a rough game. Springville's really good. They're fast, but I think that we took a lot out of this game and we're going to do better next time. I'm not worried, there are a lot of positive things to take out of this game," said Swenson. Kaleb Davis / The Sentinel REGION ACTION: Salem's Hailey Ingram battles a Springville player for the ball on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. Salem Hills gets shutout Steve Hardman / The Sentinel LONE GOAL: Jessica Blackett takes a shot against Uintah. Blackett scored the only goal in the game to give Maple Mountain the win. * SF continues to improve Brian Holt STAFF W R I T E R The Lady Dons implemented a new 4-5-1 formation, designed to control the ball better and make it difficult for the other team to gain momentum. After a few adjustments throughout the first half of the Payson game the Don's had better ball control and maintained possession of the ball. "During half-time we made some good adjustments and during the second half we scored a goal and eliminated a lot of shots of goal." said Coach Dennis Gillie. While both teams were evenly matched in most positions, The Don's had to shut down Payson's leading scorer, Audrey Moffit. "Amber Noguera played a tight manto-man defense and shut Audrey down the second half." Said Coach Gillie. On the other end of the field, Payson's Coach, Andrew Wright said "Spanish Forks, Courtney Acosta, played a great game and gave us problems. We had to have someone on her constantly." Despite the Don's improved intensity and great play, Payson squeaked through with a 3-1 victory. The JV game ended in a 0-0 tie. Earlier in the week the Don's were unsure if the Uintah Lady Utes would make the trip, due to having a severe outbreak of thefluat their school. However, their yellow bus showed up and their girls came ready play. "For the first 25 minutes we played well and matched up well with the Uintah girls." At that point the lady Dons were leading 2-0. Coach Dennis Gillie contin- ued, "Then Shea Johnson, senior captain, forward, went down with an injury on what could have been our third goal to that point, our team lost focus and Uintah tied the game before half time." The Don's never recovered and Uintah continued to gain momentum, scoring an additional 4 goals. "We condition a lot. Our coach's daughter plays for the Utah Utes and she uses a lot of the same drills and we run and condition a lot." said Uintah's goal keeper also. "We started running as soon as we got off the bus." The game ended with the Dons losing 2-6. The JV also lost 0-3. "We * matched up well with Uintah and look forward to the game on their field on Oct. 6. I think we can take our early success and build on that," Gillie said. On Sept. 24 the Lady Skyhawks and Lions finally met on the soccer pitch. Neither team generated much offense — most of the game was played between the 18-yard boxes. Lindsay Stevens of Salem Hills scored the first goal with a low, hard shot that found its way underneath Payson goalkeeper Heather Haskell. The two te:a;ms\_fought to .the half with; Salem holding a slight possession edge in the half. The 1-0 half time lead was dangerous for Salem as they have given up leads in the past, and since Payson has lots of experience and speed. Twelve minutes into the second half, Skyhawk forward Erica Egbert made a couple of nifty moves to beat three defenders and place a hard CLEARINGHOUSE: Spanish Fork keeper Lyndsey Healey sends the ball downfield. Oct. 6. The JV match played out similar to the varsity match. The half-time score was 0-0 as neither team could generate quality goal scoring opportunities. Skyhawk forward Kiley Williams created the first goal by winning the ball and pushing up the sideline into Lion territory. Kiley played the ball towards the far post — her cousin, Kal-; lee Wilson, showed great' heart, tracking the ball and knocking it in for the first score. Skyhawk midfielder, Holli Thorpe, scored the finishing goal with a hard outside shot. Holli played a great, aggressive game, controlling the midfield for the Lady Skyhawks. Salem sweeper, Kaycee Jacklin, led her defense t o the shutout. ALA vs. Wasatch: From ALA • A12 per. The score by the Eagles made it 27-50 with six minutes left in the game. It was a tough loss for the Eagles, but the fans are still excited for this year's team and are happy that football is uniting the school. "Football has always been a fun sport to watch and support, even last year when we didn't win. But now that we're winning and not getting killed in every game, its way more fun to watch. The football games are exciting now. We know our team has worked hard so even when they lose it is way more fun to support them. This season has brought the school together and created more school unity," said ALA student and fan Wendy Trujillo. The Eagles continue region play this week as they travel to Carbon. The Eagles are now 2-4 and they will face off with the 0-6 Dinos, in Price. MM vs. Payson: From MMHS • A12 really compete with that on a consistent basis right now." The game remained scoreless until just over a minute left in the first quarter, after Maple Mountain quarterback Jace Edmunds threw an interception from deep into* Golden Eagle territory. The Lions scored on the very next play, as running back Christopher Robbins went 21 yards for the score. Payson led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. It didn't take long for the Lions to strike again. Af- Kayla Neves / The Sentinel shot into the upper ninety of the near post. The Lions mounted a strong attack in the waning moments of the game, with forward speedster Audrey Moffat, but the Skyhawk defense held composure and stifled each attack. Skyhawk goalkeeper KayIyn Sly and her defense of Bonnie Shallenberger, Kari Turner, April Holdaway and'Brianne Marble earned the shutout. "This was a close game. Payson has a strong experienced team. Our girls played a great game for 80 minutes — they played as a team and supported each other. Bri Wilding was our biggest difference — she won balls and kept most of the momentum with us," said Coach Gillie. The two teams will meet again in Payson on ter forcing a three-and-out deep in Maple Mountain land, Payson received the Golden Eagles' punt at the Maple Mountain 45. In just three plays, the Lions were back in the end zone, and once again it was Christopher Robbins, running 11 yards for the score. After another Maple Mountain three-and-out and a failed field goal attempt by Payson, the Golden Eagles , started moving again, something they hadn't really done since the opening possession. They self-destructed, however, fumbling a snap that the Lions recovered The Sentinel on the Maple Mountain 47. Payson scored in two plays, with running back Brady Loveless carrying the ball 44 yards for the touchdown. Payson led 21-0 at the half. The Lions increased that lead to 28 on the opening kickoff of the second half, as Christopher Robbins took the return all the way home for six. Payson added one more touchdown with 2:44 left in the third quarter, setting up what would be the final score of the game, 35-0. Maple Mountain will host rival Springville this week. |