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Woods Cross • East coach Rudy Schenk stood before his troops huddled beneath the casting shade of an erected tent. Steam radiated from the artificial turf on an unusually hot September afternoon at Woods Cross.
"That was big," he proclaimed after the Leopards knocked off the Wildcats, 2-0, to take full custody of first place in Region 5 on Tuesday.
"It was huge — huge game. We talked about it before the game, and it's always a tough game with these guys. They're a quality side, no question. They've got some great players," Schenk said. "They were on us, and I was really worried the first part of the second half because they were really, really pressing and we could not find anything to save our lives, and then finally we settled down and started grinding."
The Leopards (8-2-2) claimed the top spot in region with four games remaining in the regular season after the first game in the series against the Wildcats, which entered the game ranked fifth in The Tribune's Class 4A power rankings, ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Woods Cross (9-2-2) dropped to second in region because of another tie against Ogden.
The first half resembled a game of pinball, with possessions traveling back-and-forth and slamming against players before eventually dropping through the obstacle — which in this case — sailing out of bounds without any real chance of scoring. Both teams continued to search for answers offensively in the first 40 minutes, but found nothing in return, ending the first half in a scoreless tie.
Heat very well could have contributed to the lethargic play on both sides. Referees actually stopped midway through each period water breaks, as they too struggled with the elements, while sprinklers cooled down the playing surface in the middle of the first half while trainers tended an East player suffering from an apparent lower-back injury.
East finally found the nylon deep into the second half when Sarah Nelson opportunistically collected her own ricocheted corner kick and buried a shot on the top shelf.
"She hit a composed shot," Schenk said. "She's got a nice foot, and she hit a really solid but not over-cranked shot that was on frame."
Several minutes later, East's Sami Black corralled possession after she caught Woods Cross pressing, and played a strike to freshman forward Emily Jensen whose insurance goal bounced off the post and back into the net.
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
East 2,
Woods Cross 0
R East claims sole possession of first place in Region 5 with its win against Woods Cross.
• Sarah Nelson and Emily Jensen each score for the Leopards.
• The clubs' first meeting ended in a 1-1 tie.