Red Devils start slow, finish strong

SPRINGVILLE — Although Springville girls soccer coach Ryan Swanson thought his team started the first round of the 4A state soccer tournament a little slow, his Red-Devil team still found a way to beat Cottonwood 2-0 on Tuesday thanks to two goals by junior Crosby Joyner.

"We played nervous today," Swanson said. "It took them 30 minutes to start playing. We have some talented girls on our team. We made a few mistakes today but I thought the girls played hard."

Despite the slow start, Joyner still put Springville on the board in the 11th minute when she dribbled past several Cottonwood defenders before firing a shot at the top of the 18 that landed in the left corner of the net.

"She's got instincts around the ball," Swanson said. "What she does better than anyone else at the forward position is that she plays defensively. She comes back to the ball and disrupts the halfback and middle. She has a lot of energy and creates a lot of opportunities."

Springville had many opportunities through out the first half to extend its lead. A prime opportunity came in the 30th minute when Brittany Siddoway attempted a header five-feet from the goal but Cottonwood goalie Jamie Richards made a nice save to prevent the goal.

In the second half, Springville continued to dominate possession and quickly extended its lead to 2-0 when Siddoway crossed a pass to Joyner 15 yards out for the goal. The goal was set up after Siddoway stole the ball from the Cottonwood attack near midfield. After dribbling 10-15 yards she crossed the ball Joyner for the goal.

"I thought that was a great decision," Swanson said. "She kept the ball long enough to draw their sweeper over. I was worried she was going to take the shot. But it was a great decision by Brittany. She made a beautiful pass and it was a great finish by Crosby."

Joyner and Krissa Henage lead Springville with 13 goals on the season.

On Tuesday, Henage was forced to play sweeper after Heather Hatfield suffered a concussion last week against Lehi. Swanson said that Hatfield will play on Thursday.

According to Swanson, Henage played an excellent game in the back.

"Along with Krissa, I thought our entire defense played a great game," Swanson said. "They didn"t get many quality shots."

Springville plays East on Thursday.