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Cottonwood Heights • After his previously unbeaten and untied team battled to a 0-0 double overtime tie against rival Brighton on Tuesday, veteran Alta coach Lee Mitchell did not seemed surprised in the least.
"I have said it for a million years," said the only soccer coach Alta has ever had. "When Alta and Brighton play, you throw out the records. It's a dogfight. It has always been that way."
This was not only a key Region 3 game but also a contest with statewide ramifications since the Hawks and Bengals came into it ranked first and second in 5A.
The end result is that Alta, which dropped to 11-0-1 on the season, maintained its two-point league lead over Brighton, which is unbeaten in region but battled to its second tie game in league play.
"It wasn't what we were looking for but we will take what we can get," said Bengal coach Tom Cushing, who got a good game from his defenders and goalie Connor Dearden in the face of a ferocious Alta second-half and overtime onslaught. "I knew they hadn't lost. But not on your home field. Maybe if we were at Alta, we would take it. But we have to win the ones here."
The two teams will meet again right before the state tournament at Alta and perhaps Brighton will have fresher legs. This was the third overtime game in a row for the Bengals.
"We looked a little tired at times," said Cushing. "Me, personally, also."
Alta's Bryson Colemere did get a ball past Dearden in the first half, but officials ruled that he was offside and negated the goal.
"I couldn't tell from where I was," said Mitchell about the offside call. "But they are good officials. You have to trust what they are doing."
Hawks goalie Alex Johnson continued his season-long solid play, especially in the first half, when Brighton missed several opportunities to score.
Alta dominated much of the second half but could not get the ball into the net despite several good opportunities.
"We struggled a little bit in the midfield but our back line stayed strong and kept them out of the net," said Cushing.
Mitchell tried to put a positive spin on the tie.
"This could be a good thing for us," he said. "Brighton is good. You have got to do things right to score on them. The field was dry, hard and fast. That made a big difference. Our legs were getting tired. We ran a long ways out there.
"In the big picture, we can't take anything for granted," he continued. "Every team in our region is good and every game is tight."
Twitter @tribtomwharton