Desert Hills' Bryant McCoy (26), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
ST. GEORGE – Desert Hills scored an avalanche of goals after halftime (four, to be exact) and the Thunder came out with a 4-3 victory over Dixie in the first game of region play Tuesday night at Thunder Stadium.
The Flyers led 1-0 at the half, but the hot feet of Ben Simister jump-started the Thunder offense after intermission. Simister recorded a hat trick (three goals) in the victory, while Bryant McCoy scored the other second-half goal as Desert Hills defeated Dixie for the first time since 2014. DH scored four straight goals to start the second half.
Thunder head coach Benji Nelson was happy with the win to start the season, but especially against a team that finished ahead of them last year in the final standings.
“We came out flat, like we’ve been a few times,” he said. “They scored early in the match. I think we were just nervous playing a talented team. I thought we were pretty close in the first half. In the second half, we changed our formation a little bit. We dropped Kelton Holt back with Bridger Nelson at midfield and played the ball down the wings. We were getting crosses and corners. It was a great game. Both teams are very talented.”
Dixie head coach Burt Myers was disappointed to drop to 0-1 on the season, but said there are still a lot of matches to be played, including a rematch with Desert Hills.
“It’s a long season,” Myers said. “Desert Hills protected their home turf. That’s what you’ve got do in the region, because there’s a few teams that can come in and beat you. I’m not overly concerned about what happened tonight. I think we’ll finish really strong. We’ve been here before and we’ll be fine.”
Although DH allowed three goals throughout the game, Nelson didn’t seem too concerned about his defense.
“They scored two goals in the last 10 minutes,” he said. “We started pulling some guys out because we were up 4-1. They snuck one in and got some energy, then got another one. It just goes to show you, you have to play hard even with a comfortable lead.”
Dixie’s Jose Morales scored two for the Flyers, while Oscar Quintero scored the third on an assist from Morales.
Myers wasn’t too disappointed with the defense, even though it allowed four goals in the second half.
“Our defense did a really good job, we just had some stupid fouls,” Myers said. “It was the set pieces and the ball was bouncing around in the box. I’m not too worried about it. We’ve got a great defense, it’s just stuff happens and it happened to us tonight.”
Next up for Desert Hills is a road trip at Tooele and Ben Lomond Friday and Saturday.
“We’re obviously going up there to win, but we’re going to hold some guys out (due to injuries), so that we’re ready for region next week,” Nelson said. “We’ve just got to come out with energy and play hard, not come out flat like we did tonight.”
Dixie will host Park City Friday at 3:30 p.m.
“We’re going to stay with what we do,” Myers said. “We’re not going to change anything big. We’ve got the right kids playing.”
Canyon View 1, Snow Canyon 0
The Warriors suffered only their second loss of the season this year with a 1-0 road defeat at CVHS.
The Falcons are now on a five-game winning streak and four-in-a-row against Region 9 opponents. CV must be itching to get back into the region to see how it fares next season.
Scott Sanders scored the lone goal in the game, and he now has four goals on the season. Keeper Matt Bench recorded his third shutout of the year.
Snow Canyon will play at Cedar Friday to start Region 9 play at 3:30 p.m.
Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie's Bridger Wright (1), and Desert Hills' Bryant McCoy (26), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Beau Banielos (14) Dixie's Sergio Diaz (11), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie celebrates their first half goal, Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie's Anthony de Paz (27) makes a save, Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Jake Barton (7), and Dixie's Jorge Bernabe (18), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie's Bridger Wright (1), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Bryant McCoy (26) and Dixie's Sergio Diaz (11), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Kaler Imlay (25) and Dixie's Oscar Quintero (38), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Isaiah Hacker (1), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie's Tauri Morales (10) and Desert Hills' Isaiah Hacker (1), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Bryant McCoy (26), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Jake Barton (7) and Dixie's Cristian Chavez (9), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie's Jorge Bernabe (18) and Desert Hills' Bridger Nelson (10), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Bryant McCoy (26) and Dixie's Jesse Wilkinson (2), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie's Sergio Diaz (11) and Desert Hills’ Ben Simister (4), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills' Will Schroeder (13) and Dixie's Jace Bennett (8), Desert Hills vs. Dixie, Soccer, St. George, Utah, Mar. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jordan Abel started writing at Dixie State University for the Dixie Sun News in 2013, where he also became the sports editor for a semester before moving to Cedar City. He has also written for The Spectrum & Daily News, University Journal at Southern Utah University and now St. George News. He is currently attending Southern Utah University and pursuing a degree in pharmacy. Journalism has become a passion for him as he pursues his studies in another field. Jordan married Kaylee, a former Pine View and current SUU cross-country and track runner, in 2014.