Lehi Sports
Pioneer girls soccer goes 4-1 in 10-day stretch
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School girls soccer team has continued a busy early-season schedule, advancing their record to 6-2 in their non-league matches with four more victories over the past couple of weeks.
Aug. 11: Lehi 3, Mountain Ridge 2
The Pioneers had to fight hard for this triumph after a 90-minute lightning delay. “It is a little bit difficult to get going after a short second warmup,” said Coach Jonas Hartmann. “They got up 1-0 on us which was the score at halftime after a very even and hard-fought battle in the first period.
“I asked for a response from my team during the break,” he continued. “I would say they did with a 3-1 second half and the winning mentality it will take to challenge in tight games this year. I have lots of respect for the Sentinels as they played us tough until the last whistle.”
Lehi’s triple threat provided all of the offense in this taut contest. Senior forward Ashley Gardner scored the first two goals with assists from junior forwards Tessa Richards and Lilie Watson. Richards hit the target for the third score with a second assist from Watson.
Aug. 13: Lehi 2, Herriman 0
Sophomore goalkeeper Jill Farnes earned the shutout over the Mustangs as the Pioneers entertained Herriman at home. The teams were scoreless after the first half, but Lehi managed to find the net twice after the break to collect the win.
With a give from freshman forward Liv Seitzinger in her varsity debut, Richards posted the game-winning goal for the Pioneers and then assisted on the insurance score made by Watson.
“The game actually went as we were expecting,” Hartmann said. “Herriman playing very defensive and very organized and disciplined, making it hard to break through. They were strong and battled us and it was a great competitive game where we had a lot of opportunities to work on breaking down a defense.
“We came out in a new formation, but the players adapted well,” the coach said. “We played with three defenders led by freshman Kaelynn Grimley. I thought we were strong on the wings with especially Tessa Richards leading the charge with an amazing game.”
Aug. 17: Lehi 1, Olympus 0
Farnes recorded another clean sheet on the road against the Titans, who had outscored their previous opponents by a combined 8-1 margin. Senior defender Livi Schoenfeld scored the game’s lone goal unassisted on a free kick from deep in the first half.
“Olympus came out hard and was a great opponent for us,” Hartmann said. “It was a real battle on both sides. It was physical and fast, and both teams created some dangerous chances.
“Jill in goal today came up big on a couple of occasions. It took a great defensive effort to keep a very good team from scoring. I am really proud of the girls, who are growing every game,” the coach concluded.
Aug. 19: Syracuse 4, Lehi 2
A short-lived defensive hiccup by the Pioneers late in the game provided enough of an opening for the defending 6A champs to come from behind to win this match. Watson scored the first goal for Lehi and gave the assist to junior midfielder Presley Shippen for the second one.
“It was really a good game,” Hartmann said. “We were up twice, 1-0 before the break and 2-1 with 15 minutes left. Then we had a mental lapse for seven minutes where we gave up three goals on shots from distance. We have to learn from this and figure out how to close out games.
“We had plenty of opportunities to put three or four more goals in too and that’s another thing we need to improve on,” the coach said.
“But, there were lots of positive moments and I feel great about the team and where we are,” he added. “We were on grass today for the first time and it threw us off a little, but we will be back tomorrow.” Jill Farnes went the distance in the goal.
Aug. 20: Lehi 7, Grantsville 2
The Pioneers had their way against the Cowboys at home, leading 3-1 at the half and going on to the lopsided victory. Farnes manned the net for 60 minutes and freshman Reese James the other 20, each of them yielding one score.
Watson tallied three goals and one assist to lead the Lehi offensive effort. The other scores came courtesy of Richards, junior forward Emeri Thatcher, junior midfielder Aly Badger and sophomore midfielder Kayla Southwick.
Sophomore forward Eiley Baker supplied three assists, while Seitzinger provided two gives and Gardner contributed the other one.
“We had an opportunity to provide a little rest to some players today and give heavier minutes to others,” Hartmann said. “We came out far too slow and give up a goal in less than 30 seconds and we struggled to find much rhythm the first 20 or so minutes.
“I felt our possession could be much better but then we started settling down a bit and added three goals before the break to really put the game out of reach for Grantsville,” he said. “In the second half we controlled the proceedings and added four more goals. I think especially Eiley Baker did a great job.
“We now head into the last week of preseason with two tough away games, both on grass at Weber and Davis, but these will be a great way to test these girls,” the coach said.
“We will have our varsity keeper, Siena Wells, available against Davis after having sat out her required 50 percent of games as a transfer student. However, in her place Jill Farnes has been fantastic between the pipes,” Hartmann added.
Lehi travels to Weber on Tuesday (Aug. 25) for a 3:30 p.m. start and then visits Davis Thursday (Aug. 27) at the same time for the varsity match.
