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Skyridge senior Hadlie Bullock heads the ball during the Region 4 game at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Skyridge girls soccer players celebrate after freshman Kalena Bellini (left) scored a goal during the Region 4 game at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Skyridge and Pleasant Grove players battle for the ball during the Region 4 game at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Pleasant Grove junior Kiersi Fietkau chases the the ball during the Region 4 game against Skyridge at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Skyridge and Pleasant Grove players battle for the ball during the Region 4 game at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Skyridge and Pleasant Grove players battle for the ball during the Region 4 game at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Skyridge and Pleasant Grove players battle for the ball during the Region 4 game at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Pleasant Grove head coach Matt Embley talks to one of his players during the Region 4 game against Skyridge at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021 (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Skyridge girls soccer players celebrate after junior Annika Schavey) scored a goal during the Region 4 game at Pleasant Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Relentless.

That’s a word that defines the Skyridge girls soccer team’s aggressive, high-pressure style of soccer when on defense, attacking opponents as it looks to force turnovers.

That mentality also pays dividends at the offensive end, as evidenced by what happened in Tuesday’s Region 4 opener as the Falcons went on the road to face undefeated Pleasant Grove.

Skyridge needed multiple shots off of a couple of key first-half corner kicks but eventually found ways to get the ball in the back of the net, blasting its way to the 3-0 win over the Vikings.

“They wanted it,” Falcon head coach Toby Peterson said. “Our goal was to work harder, to pressure them and force them to make it happen. Our conditioning allowed us to hold that pressure for the entire game. This was a complete team win.”

After struggling to even get the ball across the midfield stripe early in the game, Skyridge seized the momentum in the 25th minute when the Falcons earned a corner kick.

The initial kick was well placed and Skyridge got a great look, rifling a hard shot at Pleasant Grove senior keeper Kam Willoughby. But the Viking star was up to the challenge, diving and knocking the ball away.

That was where the Falcon relentlessness paid big dividends as the visitors stayed with the attack, chipping the ball back into the middle of the box.

It was headed up and bounced around, eventually falling to freshman midfielder Kalena Bellini. Her shot made its way through all the traffic and although Willoughby got a piece of it, it ricocheted across the line and into the top of the net for the game’s first goal.

The second Skyridge goal followed a similar pattern, once again coming off a corner kick. The initial cross was deflected and pinballed off multiple players, but junior forward Annika Schavey was able to get enough on a shot to double the Falcon advantage.

“That’s really the story of this team,” Peterson said. “We decided that we had to have more than just a possession game. We had to score goals. We wish they had been cleaner but we’ll take them however they come.”

That pair of goals would’ve been more than enough, thanks to the defensive tactics and effort that kept the home team at bay the rest of the way.

“Pleasant Grove is a strong team, strong technically and tactically,” Peterson said. “We saw early on that they were going to attack through the middle, so we switched to having two holding midfielders. That gave us the relief we needed. They stepped up and closed down the middle, which was what we needed.”

Skyridge tacked on a third and final goal when junior forward Kylie Olsen hit a great long shot that made it in.

The Falcons suffered a pair of tough preseason losses, losing by one goal to Riverton and to Timpview, but the performance on Tuesday night against the Vikings sent a strong message to the rest of Region 4.

“This gives us the confidence that we need,” Peterson said. “We’ve seen we can beat a quality team in a tough region. Hopefully we can carry it on. We’ve seen we can compete. It’s nice now to have that win to build on.”

Skyridge (4-2, 1-0) will look to maintain the momentum when it hosts Westlake on Thursday, while Pleasant Grove (7-1, 0-1) hopes to get back on track when it plays at American Fork the same afternoon.

Both games are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.

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