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American Fork's Julie Huddleston kicks the ball during the Cavemen's second round game vs Layton

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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American Fork's Avery Walbruch on a corner kick during her team's second round match vs Layton

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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American Fork's Sophie Judd dribbles through traffic during her team's second round match versus Layton

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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American Fork's Suri Parsia battles to control the ball during her team's second round match versus Layton

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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American Fork's Ivy Jacobson dribbles through traffic during her team's second round match versus Layton

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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American Fork and Layton contend for a corner kick during Tuesday's second round 6A action

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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American Fork freshman Avery Walbruch has been a standout this year for the Cavemen

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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American Fork's Avery Walbruch sends in a shot at goal during her team's 1-0 win over Layton

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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American Fork's Charlotte Anderson

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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First-year Coach Tara Warner addresses her team following the Cavemen's 1-0 win over Layton on Tuesday

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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A lot can be learned from taking tough losses, and the American Fork girls soccer team apparently learned a great lesson during its 2-1 loss in double overtime to Lone Peak late in the regular season.

The Cavemen turned around to win two straight to finish out region play on the heels of that tight loss to a Knight team, which many consider the overwhelming favorite to win the 6A championship this season, and continued its march on Tuesday with a 1-o win over Layton to advance to the 6A quarterfinal round.

“We had opportunities to win that game, so after the game we told (the players) that they can compete with the best,” said American Fork Coach Tara Warner. “So there’s nothing really stopping us.”

Layton tried its best to stop the Cavemen on Tuesday in what proved to be a physical contest late. American Fork controlled possession, for the most part, and had several scoring attempts just miss late while fighting off the extracurricular contact dealt its way and fending off whatever scoring chances the Lancers set forth.

Fortunately one opportunity was capitalized on early when American Fork junior Cambree Ballard was able to find the back of the net after just 10 minutes of play in the first half. Ballard showed patience, weaving her way through some traffic in front of her to find an open goal ,and then proved true with her attempt.

“She’s experienced, as a junior, and she has the knowledge when to pull back and when to take the shot,” Warner said of Ballard’s goal. “At times there’s time to take a one-touch shot, but she was very composed in that situation.”

“I just dribbled down the field, went to my right, cut it back to my left…and then just finished it in the bottom right-hand corner,” Ballard added of her game-winning goal. “It’s so much more fun to do it in the state tournament. It feels like a different type of goal.”

Yes, things are different for American Fork now, and perhaps particularly since late August, when Warner’s team took three straight losses to Farmington, Corner Canyon and Lone Peak, all by a 3-0 margin. But rather than pack it in, the Cavemen regrouped and have now won six of their last seven matches, with the only loss incurred in double overtime to the Knights, as mentioned.

“It made us realize how good we can be,” Ballard said regarding how her team finished out the regular season. “I feel a lot of people weren’t expecting us to come out like that this year. We were definitely the underdogs this year, but I think we’re coming out as one of the top teams.”

Ballard, as a junior, is one of the more experienced players on the team that fields a lot of freshmen and sophomores. As a group, all of those underclassmen have shown marked improvements, perhaps particularly freshmen standouts Avery Walbruch and Ivy Jacobson, both of whom put on big pressure late, just missing out on several goal-scoring opportunities.

“We had a big freshmen class come in, and they’ve been awesome,” Warner said. “I feel like our seniors, juniors and even our sophomores have stepped up and shown them the ropes and the expectations. It’s all coming together right now, and it’s been awesome.”

With the win American Fork advances to the quarterfinal round where it will take on Mountain Ridge on Thursday. It will likely pose a stiff test for Warner, who is in her first year coaching at American Fork, along with her players.