Region 9 boys soccer: Snow Canyon, Dixie each add 2 wins as season nears midpoint

Written by Jeff Richards
April 6, 2024
James Porter of Dixie (wearing bright green shoes) heads the ball into the net to give the Flyers an early 1-0 lead over Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 5, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

ST. GEORGE — As the Region 9 boys soccer regular season nears its midpoint, Snow Canyon remains unbeaten atop the region standings with a 5-0 record, followed closely by Dixie at 4-1.

Both the Warriors and the Flyers won twice this week. Snow Canyon won at Hurricane on Tuesday and edged past Crimson Cliffs with a 2-1 overtime win on Friday. Meanwhile, Dixie picked up a home win over Desert Hills on Tuesday and a road win over Cedar on Friday.

Following are short recaps of this past week’s games, along with the current standings.

The initial boys soccer RPI rankings of the season were also released earlier this week by Utah High School Activities Association. Snow Canyon is currently ranked fifth, Dixie is sixth and Crimson Cliffs is 10th among the 27 teams in the 4A classification.

Tuesday’s games

Crimson Cliffs 7, Cedar 1

At Crimson Cliffs, the Mustangs scored six goals in the first half and rolled to a convincing win over the Cedar Reds. Ezekiel Weir, Easton Lott and Hinckley Heaton each scored two goals for the Mustangs, while Ryan Smith added a goal and two assists.

Snow Canyon 6, Hurricane 1

At Hurricane, the Snow Canyon Warriors scored three goals in each half while holding the Tigers to a single score. Caden Morris and Zachary Buck led the Warriors with two goals apiece.

Dixie 4, Desert Hills 1

At Dixie, the Flyers took a 4-0 lead in the first half and held on to defeat Desert Hills 4-1. Iker Meza and Taylor Kogan each had one goal and one assist for Dixie.

Friday’s games

Dixie 6, Cedar 1

Iker Meza of Dixie makes a corner kick vs. Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 5, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Dixie senior Iker Meza recorded a three-goal hat trick and added a pair of assists, including one from a corner kick to teammate James Porter, who headed the ball into the net for the Flyers’ first goal, about five minutes after the start of the game.

Snow Canyon 2, Crimson Cliffs 1 (OT)

At Snow Canyon, the Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a penalty kick by Juan Guerrero. Crimson’s Hinckley Heaton then netted an equalizer during the second half, assisted by Ryan Smith. Just two minutes after the start of the overtime period, Josh Jensen netted the game-winning golden goal. 

“Being down three starters due to injury and coming away with the win speaks volumes about this group,” head coach  Kendal Nani told St. George News afterward, adding, “Their grit, their heart and effort was outstanding.”

Nani also mentioned defender Davis Larsen’s sliding save at the goal line with under two minutes left in regulation, as well as Ethan Scott stepping in at right back for the first time and “locking it down”

“These boys are truly a special team,” Nani added. “I give credit to Crimson and their coaching staff. They’re well coached and they have a lot of talent. But in the end, our boys did what it took to come away with the win. I’m really proud of them.”

Pine View 2, Desert Hills 1

At Desert Hills, the Pine View Panthers scored once in each half and held on to pick up their first win of the season. Bruce Jacobs and Hayden Blaisdell each scored for the Panthers, while Dillon Bingham scored the lone goal for Desert Hills.

Region 9 boys soccer standings, as of April 6

  1. Snow Canyon (5-0, 5-1)
  2. Dixie (4-1, 6-1)
  3. Crimson Cliffs (3-2, 5-3)
  4. Desert Hills (2-3, 3-4)
  5. Cedar (2-2, 2-5)
  6. Pine View (1-4, 1-6)
  7. Hurricane (0-5, 0-6)

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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