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Sandy • Amid the shrieks of exuberance from players celebrating their spot in a state championship match, Bobby Kennedy waxed existential on his Rowland Hall Winged Lions now 90 minutes — perhaps more — away from a crown.
"We haven't been here for years," Rowland Hall's coach explained, "so I just think if we could settle down a little bit and play the ball, we were probably the better team, but it's not really about soccer now for us — it's about trying to compete and deal with the nerves."
The Winged Lions defeated Parowan 2-0 in the 2A state semifinals Friday morning at Jordan High School to advance to the 2A title match Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. It'd been five years since Rowland Hall made it to the semifinals, but by defeating the Rams on a blustery sun-soaked day, the Winged Lions clinched their spot in the first state championship match since 2007, when the program won the 2A title in a shootout against Millard.
Rowland Hall rolled out to an early lead against Parowan when forward Elizabeth Baer gave her team a 1-0 advantage in the 10th minute. The ball eventually found the foot of Baer after a mad scramble in the box, but the striker struck a side-volley that zipped into the upper 90.
For the next 60 minutes, the two teams battled harsh gusts and the speed of the turf at Jordan High. The Rams, in search of an equalizer pressed in the second half as expected and pushed numbers forward. Midfielder Kaylie Orton nearly pulled even in the 48th minute when her 45-yard free kick, guided by the wind, jumped on Rowland Hall goalkeeper Alyssa Cole, but she was able to push it barely over the crossbar.
Cole again came up with a crucial save in the 70th minute when she stopped a point-blank shot from Vanessa Lozano from six yards out.
"Pretty big," Kennedy said. "Alyssa volunteered this year to go in goal. She used to be a midfielder."
With the Rams pushed up in the attack, the Winged Lions put an exclamation mark on their first semifinal victory in seven seasons. Forward Jessica Sterrett scored a breakaway goal with 4.7 seconds remaining to assure her team's spot in the state championship Saturday afternoon.
"We're here, and we'll try and get them organized and figure out how not to come out on a bigger stage and freak out," Kennedy said.
Twitter: @CKTribune —
Rowland Hall 2, Parowan 0
• Forward Elizabeth Baer gives the Winged Lions a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute
• Forward Jessica Sterrett scores with 4.7 seconds remaining to assure a 2-0 win
• Goalkeeper Alyssa Cole stops Parowan's Vanessa Lozano in the 70th minute.