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Draper • Juan Diego boasts the top-scoring tandem in the state, but it was an unlikely scorer who made the difference in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs Thursday.

Junior reserve midfielder Matt Lilien scored his first career goal as the defending champion Soaring Eagle blanked visiting Desert Hills 2-0.

"It was a big game," said Lilien, who recovered his own rebound and got behind Thunder goalkeeper Isaiah Hacker in the 27th minute. "It was a team effort, obviously, but it felt really good to score that goal. It put us up on the board and got us going."

Juan Diego coach Scott Platz said Lilien does the "grunt work" for the team and was glad to see him rewarded with his first goal.

"He's an all-heart kind of guy, and he wasn't going to be denied there," Platz said. "It's nice to get him a little love there."

A much more likely goal came 10 minutes later from senior forward Ruben Castillo. It was Castillo's 17th this season — tops in 3A — and was set up by a nifty cross from Jered Mariani.

Mariani and Castillo have scored a combined 30 goals, making them the top-scoring duo in the state.

"Both of them are phenomenal players," Lilien said. "They just teach me how to work hard and move off the ball and play soccer."

Said Platz about the scoring tandem: "When they start to click and they start to jive with one another, it's really a pretty thing to watch. It's almost second nature for them now. … They're our two leading scorers and our two leading assists guys, so they find each other a lot."

The Soaring Eagle (13-3) ousted Desert Hills (11-6) from the playoffs for the second consecutive season — both by shutout. Juan Diego goalkeeper Martin Kelly recorded five saves to notch the team's seventh shutout of the season and second in a row.

Juan Diego, the second seed out of Region 11, is sure to face a much stiffer challenge Saturday when it travels to play Region 10 champion Park City in the quarterfinals. The Miners routed Carbon 8-0 on Thursday. —

Juan Diego 2, Desert Hills 0

R Junior Matt Lilien scores his first career goal in the first half for the game-winner.

• Ruben Castillo's goal 10 minutes later is his 17th of the season, which is tops in Class 3A.

• Desert Hills sees its postseason end in a shutout against Juan Diego for the second consecutive year.