Breathing easy: Spanish Fork girls soccer gets past Salem Hills in 5A first round
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- Spanish Fork junior Lexi Kovatch (right) celebrates after she scored a goal during the 5A first round game against Salem Hills in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork junior Lexi Kovatch (left) takes a shot during the 5A first round game against Salem Hills in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork and Salem Hills players battle for the ball during the 5A first round game in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork junior Lexi Kovatch makes a move during the 5A first round game against Salem Hills in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork senior Kiah Skollingsberg heads the ball during the 5A first round game against Salem Hills in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork and Salem Hills players battle for the ball during the 5A first round game in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork senior Brooklyn Smith settles the ball during the 5A first round game against Salem Hills in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork senior Abby Hoyt heads the ball during the 5A first round game against Salem Hills in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Salem Hills senior Paisley Nelson takes a shot during the 5A first round game in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork players run onto the field to get ready for the 5A first round game against Salem Hills in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
Spanish Fork junior forward Lexi Kovatch stood near her own sideline midway through the first half on Thursday, gasping for air. She gestured to the sideline and got her inhaler during a stoppage in play, taking a couple of puffs to help with her asthma.
It’s nothing new to Kovatch. She’s had to do it a few times during the year.
But this was the first round of the 5A state girls soccer tournament against Region 7 rival Salem Hills and although the Dons were up, they always need Kovatch to be ready.
“Lexi plays lights out for us,” Spanish Fork head coach Troy Felt said. “If we can get the timing of the pass and the run, which is what we’ve been working on, it’s hard for any defense to match it because she’s got the speed. She’s been a great player for us all season.”
It was that type of play a couple of minutes after Kovatch got her breath back that virtually put the game away for the Dons.
Spanish Fork’s Gracyn Cook spotted Kovatch making a run down the right side and place a perfect ball to where the Don junior could get to it with time to make a decision. She spotted the Salem Hills keeper charging out and calmly struck it over the outstretched arms to get her second goal of the game.
“I made eye contact with her (Cook) and I knew I could get there,” Kovatch said. “It was such a good pass.”
That finish in the 35th minute gave Spanish Fork a commanding lead and the No. 16-seeded Dons never looked back, cruising to the 4-1 victory over the No. 17-seeded Skyhawks to advance to the second round.
“The key for us is possession, possession, possession,” Felt said. “We tried to possess the best we could. We had a really good triangle in the middle and midfielders did a really good job. Then we just took advantage of getting behind and those slot passes working really, really well with our players up front. I’m so proud of the girls. It’s the way we’ve tried to play all year.”
There have been a number of ups and downs for Spanish Fork this year but the Dons have always found a way to play their best against Salem Hills. Of the 22 goals Spanish Fork has now scored this season, 10 of them have come in the three Don wins over the Skyhawks.
“There is something that gets us going,” Kovatch said. “Some of my old teammates are on that team, so it is fun to challenge them.”
Kovatch got the scoring started in the seventh minute after senior Brooklyn Smith was able to settle a long pass in the Salem Hills box, then tapped it out to where Kovatch fired from a tough angle put placed it perfectly in the side netting for the 1-0 lead.
A fortunate bounce doubled the advantage when Spanish Fork’s Mackenzie Maclean hit a long shot and senior Kaylie Schaffer got a touch on it, sending it bouncing and spinning just inside the far post.
That set the stage for Kovatch’s third goal and made it too big of a hill to climb for the Skyhawks, particularly with how the Don defense was playing.
“Our center defender Abby Hoyt is one of the best players that I’ve coached,” Felt said. “She’s so good with her IQ and organization and everything. We try our best to have a plus-one at the back so that we can cover the pressure and then try to get to the ball first. We don’t want to make it easy anytime.”
Both teams added second half goals but it wasn’t enough for Salem Hills and the Skyhawk season came to an end.
“They worked really hard to be here and have a chance to extend our season,” Skyhawk head coach Kyra Peery said. “Obviously, not everything goes the way you want during the season, but they were resilient and kept coming back and kept working hard. Their determination was amazing to watch this season.”
The Dons now advance to the second round where they will go on the road to play at No. 1-seed Skyline.
“We have played tough teams all season,” Felt said. “Most of our teams in our region are in the Top 10. I don’t care that it’s at Skyline. We’re used to tough teams. I know we can’t compete. We don’t have any pressure. We don’t have a target on our back. We can just go in and make the most of it, so I think we’re in a good spot.”
Kovatch grinned as she talked about how excited she is to have the opportunity to face the Eagles.
“I’m so pumped,” she said. “It’s awesome.”
Spanish Fork and Skyline are scheduled to play in Salt Lake City on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
State girls soccer scoreboard
5A first round
Spanish Fork 4, Salem Hills 1
Maple Mountain 1, Highland 0
4A first round
Provo 0, Jordan 0 (Provo wins in PKs)
Cedar 4, Orem 1
6A first round
Lehi 1, Bingham 0
Salt Lake Academy 3, Westlake 1
2A first round
Waterford 10, ALA 0
Maeser 10, North Summit 0
