Lehi Sports
Skyridge Unified Soccer team wins 4th straight title
Jennifer Thomas / Lehi Free Press
The talented Unified athletes from Skyridge High School defeated rival Hunter High School’s Unified team 3-2 on Oct. 9 at America First Field in Sandy to claim the Unified Soccer State Championship for the fourth consecutive year.
Unified Sports combines people with and without intellectual disabilities who are similar in age and ability on the same team. The program was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
The Skyridge Unified soccer team is led by head coach Cade Peck, with Eric Morgan, Jacob Figueira and Maddy Chamberlain as assistant coaches.
“This was a competitive game,” said Figueira. “We were playing for our fourth straight state championship title, and this was the third year in a row that we were facing Hunter High School in the final. We were missing two key players due to injury, so we knew we were in for a tough match.”
Skyridge survived a couple of close calls in the opening minutes of the match, with goalie, Rafe Youngs and defenders Boston Long and Jonny Daw making some key stops.
Forward Bella Swick made a few strike attempts, coming close to scoring for the Falcons. With only a few minutes left in the half, Bodey Stewart struck for Skyridge, putting the Falcons up 1-0.
A minute later, midfielder Kyron Gehrke played a beautiful ball over the top of the Hunter defense and Skyridge attacker Molly Kindred ran in behind the defense and on to the ball, beating the goalkeeper with a perfectly-placed shot in the right corner of the net to double the Falcon advantage.
Attacker and goalie Taylor Burke played great defense to help maintain the Skyridge lead. With just a few seconds left before the half, Hunter Unified snuck a shot just inside the left post to pull within 2-1. Shortly after the break, Hunter evened the score with a rifle of a shot, setting up a tense finish.
Skyridge’s Youngs nearly put the Falcons in front again, but his volley was tipped by Hunter’s goalkeeper and rolled just wide. The Falcons continued their attack.
With a few minutes to go, Stewart went the length of the field, dribbled to the left, and angled a left-footed shot through two defenders and past the keeper into the right corner of the net to take the lead 3-2. The Falcon defense held strong the rest of the way to secure the victory.
“I feel happy because we were awarded the trophy,” said Burke. “Our team played hard to take home a well-deserved state championship title,” added Long.
“We had a fantastic group of students cheering us on from the stands and an amazing reception back at the school to celebrate the win,” said Figueira. “It was super fun to see the athletes and peers work together as a team and celebrate each other’s success,” said Peck.
America First Credit Union presented $500 scholarships to one Special Olympics athlete and one Unified Partner peer athlete from each team. The Skyridge players who received these awards included Ian Owen and Tyson Hofhiens.
“Being a part of a unified team is a wonderful opportunity that everyone should take if they get the chance,” said Hofheins.
This national sports program continues to grow throughout the state. As of early 2024, 120 schools across Utah offer at least one component of the Unified Champion Schools program.
The program is an initiative of Special Olympics Utah in partnership with the Utah High School Activities Association, which overseas extracurricular programs at all member schools in the state.
Inclusion is a part of the school culture at Skyridge, which greatly supports the Unified athletes.
“We are so grateful to have such amazing students, athletes, and staff members who are ‘all in’ on inclusion and are striving to build a community here at Skyridge where every student is welcome, valued and feels like they belong,” said Figueira.
“This is my first year being a part of Unified Sports, and I’m absolutely loving it,” said Morgan. “It’s so fun to watch the kids play; the excitement and the pure joy they bring is incredible. Seeing how much it means to them and how they support one another is what makes Unified Sports so special.”
“It’s incredible to be a part of such an amazing program that unites students,” said Kindred. “Playing in the state final brought me so much joy and being able to celebrate our students as a school and seeing everyone support them was so special! It was truly a day I will never forget.”
“Something that I really enjoy is the friendships that form between our students and tutors during these sporting events,” said Chamberlain. “Being able to see them grow and work together is so rewarding.”
“Being a part of these athletes’ accomplishments and celebrating with them is a huge blessing to me personally, and one of the highlights of my job,” added Figueira.
