Region 9 boys soccer: Shootout between Dixie, Snow Canyon determines top spot; Pine View, Desert Hills win

Written by E. George Goold
April 10, 2024

ST. GEORGE — The boys soccer teams from Dixie and Snow Canyon are tied atop the Region 9 standings halfway through the regular season.

Dixie’s Kimball Carter (left) works against Snow Canyon in a Region 9 soccer match, St. George, Utah, April 10, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Dixie’s 3-1 triumph in a shootout at home against Snow Canyon Tuesday night left the teams with identical 5-1 marks in region play.

“I give credit to their (Warriors) defense and their goalie made some great saves,” Dixie coach Travis Wilkinson told St. George News. 

“There’s a reason why they were at the top of the table in the region. They’ve been able to defend and find a way to get goals,” he added, “so I give a lot of credit to their coaches. They do a good job and have a great group of kids.”

At the same time, Wilkinson noted, “It felt like we were just knocking on the door and knocking on the door all night.”

Especially in the second half of the contest, when Snow Canyon was held without a shot on goal, Dixie controlled the pace of play and possessed the ball for most of the game.

In the second half, Dixie shooters rang one off the post and bounced an effort off the crossbar but the Flyers could not find the back of the net.

The two overtime sessions passed quickly and the match remained scoreless.

In the decisive shootout, Dixie junior goalkeeper Mason Randolph stopped three of the four penalty kicks he faced.

Dixie’s Alex Soto (right) works against Snow Canyon in a Region 9 soccer match, St. George, Utah, April 10, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Randolph, who stands 6-foot-3 and covers a wide swath of the cage with his wingspan, said he has a simple mindset in shootouts.

“I’m going to save it,” Randolph said, adding he was not nervous. “Huge win for us. We had a ton of opportunities on our shots and missed them, we’ll work on that in practice. But we did awesome.”

Scoring for Dixie in the shootout were Iker Meza, Joe Pasley and Taylor Kogan.

“I like our chances in the region, having seen everybody,” Wilkinson said. “It’s hard to beat teams twice. And on the back end of our schedule, we play the majority of games on the road. So it will be tough to go on the road and win.”

Dixie is at Pine View Friday at 7:30 p.m. while Snow Canyon is next at Cedar Friday at 4 p.m.

Pine View 2, Hurricane 1

All three goals were scored in the second half. Andy Prudencio and Bruce Jacobs scored the goals for the Panthers.

No other details were available. 

Hurricane next plays at home against Crimson Cliffs Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Desert Hills 5, Cedar 0

Desert Hills at Cedar in Region 9 boys soccer action, Cedar City, Utah, April 9, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Thunder goalkeeper Aiden Chinn posted a shutout on the road.

Desert Hills scored once in the first half then tallied four more markers in the second half in the victory. Karson Clark led the way with two goals for the Thunder.

Boone Heaton found the net and dispensed two assists in the win. Zach Davis and Dillon Bingham also had solo goals in the victory.

Noah Nield had a hat trick of assists with three total helpers for Desert Hills, which has a bye on Friday and returns to Region 9 play at home against Crimson Cliffs April 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Region 9 boys soccer standings, halfway through the schedule (region, overall):

  1. Dixie 5-1, 7-1
  2. Snow Canyon 5-1, 5-2
  3. Crimson Cliffs 4-2, 5-3
  4. Desert Hills 3-3, 4-4
  5. Pine View 2-4, 2-6
  6. Cedar 2-4, 2-6
  7. Hurricane 0-6, 0-8

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric George Goold came to St. George News from southwestern Colorado, where he was a radio news reporter. He has been a journalist for over 20 years in five different states. He graduated with a master's degree in English from Kansas State University and writes nonfiction as well. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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