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Pioneer girls soccer gets 1-1 result to open league play
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School girls soccer team has posted one solid win plus three close losses in the last couple of weeks, moving their overall record to 7-5. They split their first two Region 3 contests, topping the Falcons but falling to the Knights in a shootout by a single goal.
Aug. 25: Weber 3, Lehi 2
The Pioneers got off to a slow start on the road, giving up two easy goals to the Wildcats in the first 20 minutes and then having to play catch-up the rest of the way. Sophomore goalkeeper Jill Farnes went the distance between the pipes.
Lehi halved the advantage before the break with a goal by sophomore midfielder Kayla Southwick assisted by senior defender Livi Schoenfeld. The Pioneers matched Weber in the second period with Schoenfeld feeding freshman forward Liv Seitzinger for the second goal.
“Our team is such much better than our results,” said Coach Jonas Hartmann. “We created plenty of chances and should easily have scored more goals but instead we gave up another one.
“It was a game we felt completely in control of, and it always looked like we would get back into it but it didn’t happen,” he added. “Our last few games have revealed a few things we need to fix but I have no doubt we will be ready for region.”
Aug. 27: Davis 3, Lehi 1
The Pioneers competed well at Davis but just didn’t finish their chances. “This was actually a really good game,” Hartmann said. “It was tight from start to finish. We came out strong and controlled the early part but weren’t able to find the back of the net.
“Davis worked their way into the game and took advantage of two dead balls to get the 2-0 lead,” he continued. That was the margin at the break.
“In the second half we came out strong again and worked hard and applied pressure on Davis,” the coach said. Lehi finally hit the target about halfway through the period when Southwick fed senior forward Ashley Gardner to cut the deficit in half.
“We were pushing hard for the equalizer at the end,” Hartmann said. “With eight minutes left we gambled with a 3 back line going for the goal and it backfired when against the run of play Davis got their third goal.
“I was proud of how they battled,” the coach added. “It was the debut for keeper Siena Wells who did a great job and sophomore Kajsa Sherman stepped into a new 6 position and had a great game.”
Sept. 1: Lehi 2, Skyridge 0
The Pioneers earned both of their goals early in this contest and then held off the Falcons at home for the victory in the Region 3 opener for both programs. Wells earned the shutout in the net for Lehi.
Gardner scored first in the 13th minute with an assist from junior forward Tessa Richards. About two minutes later, Richards set up Sherman for the second goal.
“We had a clear plan today and came out and executed it early on and got a quick lead,” Hartmann said. “We wanted to come out attacking and play very offensively and we did.
“The early lead was both a blessing and a curse because it gave us the win but also made us sit back more than I would have liked to assure we kept the clean sheet,” he went on.
“I see the progress in the group, but we are by no means done. We have hard work ahead of us, but the girls battled and got the result, which in the end is all we really wanted. Kajsa Sherman in the middle had a great game as well as Tessa Richards,” the coach said.
“Defensively we held tight led by junior defender Aly Badger and Siena Wells in goal. All our defenders were solid today, especially in a 3 back line that really worked well for us today.
“There’s no rest though and we go right into prep work tomorrow for our next game on Thursday away to Lone Peak, which is never an easy game,” Hartmann concluded.
Sept. 3: Lone Peak 1, Lehi 1 (SO 4-5)
The Pioneers very nearly pulled off an upset against the 6A state runner-up Knights. Lehi got the early advantage on a beautiful free-kick goal by Gardner and carried that 1-0 advantage into the break and for most of the second half.
“We held them until nine minutes before the end, but they were able to get one in,” Hartmann said. After two overtimes, it went to a shootout, and it took six kicks to settle the result in Lone Peak’s favor.
“Siena Wells in goal had a great game and saved a PK which could have won the game for us but unfortunately we ended up missing two and they converted on all their other shots,” he said. Richards, sophomore forward Eiley Baker, Gardner and Badger made the shootout penalty kicks for the Pioneers.
“We can’t dwell on it, so we just get back to work,” the coach concluded.
Lehi is off until Thursday (Sept. 10) when they will head to Corner Canyon as Region 3 play continues. Then it’s on to American Fork on Tuesday (Sept. 17) to complete the first round of league games. Both matches are scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
