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Woods Cross • Running toward the goal, Layton forward Kaden Amano found the ball at his feet. Yards away from the net, he aimed, fired ...
... and missed.
But Amano wasn't discouraged by his spoiled opportunity — quite the opposite.
"Honestly, I think it helped us," Amano said. "It gave us confidence that we were getting chances."
It was just five minutes later that another chance would roll his way, and the senior's aim was true this time, scoring the golden goal in a 1-0 victory over Copper Hills in overtime. Layton finished a lackluster day on offense with a furious assault in overtime to earn a berth in the Class 5A boys' soccer state championship at Rio Tinto Stadium.
While the Region 2 champs may boast the stingiest goalkeeper in the state in Sam Hunter, they weren't willing to wait until penalty kicks to win their way into the finals, which they last won in 2003.
"I wanted to be more direct [in overtime]," coach Rick Talamantez said. "We had been playing mostly possession, and they were taking the ball away from us. In overtime, I just told them let's push forward."
The game-winning play was not without controversy. As the Lancers swarmed around Amano, lifting him up from the turf, Copper Hills' coaches dashed out to the referees, arguing that Amano had been offsides as he made the approach on the goal.
Grizzlies coach Eddie Moura ultimately accepted the result in spite of his disagreement.
"That's life, right?" he said. "Our guys played hard, and I thought they were the better team today. I wanted a better result for them."
Layton was able to survive Copper Hills' own quick-strike counterattack thanks much in part to Hunter, who used one hand to punch out an early on-frame shot, and dived every which way to quell the Grizzlies. Copper Hills sophomores Jonathan Castro and Kevin Lopes were near-constant threats approaching the box.
Talamantez was just glad his Lancers stuck with it.
"They played with a lot of heart and desire," he said. "They played for the team."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Layton 1, Copper Hills 0 (OT)
R Sam Hunter posts the shutout for the Lancers — their second in three playoff games.
• Layton has won its past six games.
• Layton last played in the state championship game in 2009, a loss to Brighton.