Showing strides: American Fork notches a big 2-1 win over region rival Lehi
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- American Fork and Lehi contend for a high ball during Thursday’s game
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- American Fork celebrates following one of its two goals scored versus Lehi
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- American Fork’s Julie Huddleston
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- American Fork’s Avery Walbruch and Lehi’s Amarie Simmons fight for the ball during Thursday’s match
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- American Fork’s Charlotte Anderson fights for possession
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- The action was fast a furious during American Fork’s 2-1 win over Lehi
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- American Fork’s goalkeepers played a big role in a 2-1 win over Lehi
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- Lehi’s Lillie Watson celebrates after scoring a goal
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- Lehi’s Isabelle Dahl and American Fork’s Stori Jones battle for the ball
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- Lehi’s Isabelle Dahl
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- Lehi’s Olivia Schoenfeld
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- Lehi’s Tessa Richards attempts a shot on goal
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- American Fork Coach Tara Warner instructs her team at the half
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- Lehi’s Cali Ashton dribbles through traffic
Relatively young teams are often a work in progress, and that could well define the American Fork girls soccer team this season.
Five straight wins early in the season gave way to three tough losses to top teams like Farmington and Lone Peak, with the Cavemen working to push through and show better form toward the close of the season. And fortunately that form looks to be on the rise, evidenced with this past Thursday’s tough 2-1 win over a very good Lehi team.
“It was crazy and about gave me a heart attack,” quipped American Fork Coach Tara Warner at the game’s conclusion. “But we pulled through, kept the ball and really gave ourselves some great scoring opportunities. I felt we could have scored some more goals, but fortunately it was enough today.”
Lehi probably felt much the same way, having several scoring opportunities just miss themselves in what proved to be a furious back-and-forth match for most of the 80 minutes played.
Leading off the scoring for the Cavemen was senior Lily Rosenthal whose goal topped off a rather furious final 10 minutes of the second half, which saw several shots just miss the goal, including one that clanged hard off of the crossbar.
“We honestly felt a little unlucky to get just one goal at the end of the half there,” Warner said. “We felt the same way last game in that we had some opportunities to put the game away, but just missed. So finishing our opportunities is something we’re working on. We kept the ball a lot at the end of that first half, but we have to have the score that shows that we did.”
With regards to Rosenthal, Warner praised the leadership and play she’s brought to the team this season.
“She’s been awesome,” Warner said. “She’s a very stable player who is calm and collected. We need that because when games get chaotic it’s nice to have her in there to calm things down.”
American Fork kept the pressure on through the early minutes of the first half before Lehi responded with sophomore Lillie Watson finding the back of the net in the game’s 60th minute. But the Cavemen regathered quickly and broke the 1-1 tie just over two minutes later with freshman Claira Conners finding an open net after an attempt forced Lehi’s goalkeeper out of position.
“Our goals came from assists and great buildups,” Warner said. “Claira was in a really great spot after the shot and she put it through and it was great to see that happen for her.”
As mentioned, the Pioneers had more than their share of prime scoring opportunities, too, but thanks to some solid backline play, led by goalkeepers Siena Wells and Taybree Hansen.
“They really had some great saves and kept us in the game,” Warner said. “We gave both of them one half of play and both of them responded really well and we don’t win this game without what they did back there. I’m proud of both of them.”
With the win, American Fork improves to 7-4 on the season and 2-2 in Region 3 play with just four games remaining until the state playoffs.
“The win today was huge because after our last win over Skyridge was sort of shaky,” Warner said. “So having a game where we dominated was great for these girls and should give us a lot of confidence to finish out the season. We have a lot freshmen that have been asked to play a lot, but we also have some really great leadership that have shown all those young players how it’s done and what to expect. So we have a lot of great players and they’re all fun to work with.”
The Cavemen will work to build upon Thursday’s win next Thursday with a game at Corner Canyon while Lehi will work to improve its 8-6 record with a game versus the Chargers next Tuesday.
