This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As West and Cyprus played their final regular season soccer game last Thursday, a West parent told a fellow spectator about her daughter's tears from the night before, brought on by the realization that her senior year was nearing its end.
"She said, 'I just need one more year!'" the mother said. Similar sentiments for the West soccer program may not have been as easy to find throughout the program's history. It hasn't seen much success, with no one associated with the team aware of any recent finish higher than fourth.
That changed this year when the team clinched second place in Region 2.
"This year we came together and everything worked, everything connected," senior captain Darby Dustman said. "I feel like because we all love each other and our team chemistry works so well, we really had a positive outcome."
Dustman saw a change in outlook for the team after the first game of the season against Highland. Despite losing 2-0, the Panthers noticed that they worked well together and had an elevated skill level. Results were good last year as a junior-laden team earned a fourth place finish in the region. But it took that strong performance to build confidence. Once momentum and camaraderie started rolling together for West in 2010, the Panthers put together a 9-4-3 season and earned the program's first home playoff game.
The seniors had one coach as freshmen, another as sophomores and then finally landed a coach for two straight seasons with Eldon Brough.
Emphasis turned heavily to possession and fitness, and a team that previously won five or six games each season won eight last year and nine this season. Brough says that his team is able to outlast other teams physically and will itself to victory. Combined with strong teamwork, nine players have scored at least four goals.
"Something a little bit different and special about our team is how much we play together," Brough said. "If anybody were to come and watch us play, they'd see that we play together and we possess with each other and do things like that a lot more than the majority of the teams in the state."
Brough will be leaving at season's end to work as a strength coach at Dixie State College, but his impact won't be forgotten. A seemingly forever-middling program now has serious hope for the future. Brough hopes one of his assistants will take over as head coach and carry on the values and success he has helped instill. As for the seniors on the team, they are just grateful that they have been able to enjoy a memorable experience taking West girls' soccer to a new heights.
"It is one of the most exciting things," Dustman said. "As a freshman, we didn't even make [the playoffs] so it was just unbelievable that we're getting a home state game." —
West soccer
West soccer earned a home playoff game for the first time in program history, as far as anyone can attest.
The team built on teamwork and versatility to earn second place in Region 2, the only team to not lose twice to Skyline, drawing the Eagles once.
Balanced scoring and high fitness made West a tough matchup this season.