Salt Ratz run all over Idaho

DRAPER — With just three minutes remaining in Utah's 8-0 thrashing of Idaho on Friday evening, Jacob Cavanaugh was on the verge of a hat trick.

Having beaten Wolves' goalkeeper Guillermo Galvan twice, Cavanaugh found himself in space on the left edge of the 18-yard box. However, instead of shooting for glory, the Utah forward calmly slid the ball across the box to Jeffrey Burt, who fired a shot past Galvan to put the finishing touch on the Salt Ratz' win.

Afterword, Cavanaugh said he didn't have to think twice about passing instead of shooting.

"We're a team," he said. "(My teammates) gave me some great balls . . . You can't be selfish."

Cavanaugh scored the Salt Ratz' first goal less than three minutes into the match when he beat Galvan one-on-one. The Utah forward beat Idaho's offside trap and was wide open when Kyle Christensen played him the ball.

After Utah ended the half up 2-0, the Salt Ratz, led again by Cavanaugh, punished an under-strength Idaho side. Utah piled up six second-half goals and three of those goals came off assists from Cavanaugh.

Utah coach Mike Hickman Sr. said his team had changed its formation by playing three strikers.

"(Jacob) got into the game (because of the formation)," Hickman Sr. said. "He played a good game."

Offense hasn't been a problem for Utah in its last four matches. The team has scored a whopping 19 times in that space of time.

Besides Cavanaugh's two goals and Burt's strike, Christensen, T.J. Waters, Collin Orton and Christian Bowers all had goals. Bowers, who scored twice, received both assists from Cavanaugh.

"The whole offensive scheme did well," Hickman Sr. said. "We've created a lot of chances for ourselves."

After looking like they were out of the MPSL playoff picture in the middle of the season, the Salt Ratz are now just one win from clinching a postseason berth. But they still could miss the playoffs, depending on MPSL results in the next two days. Utah travels to Idaho next Saturday for its final league contest.

"We still need somebody to help us out a little bit," Hickman Sr. said.

---

E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com