A Peak performance, a Lone on top

OREM — The Lone Peak girls soccer team took control of its own region destiny and delivered a crushing loss to its biggest challenger with a 2-0 win over Timpanogos on Thursday.

The Knights scored two goals in a two-minute span late in the second half that stunned the home team and kept the Knights undefeated in Region 4 play.

Both teams had the game marked down on the schedule early, knowing that the winner would have an inside track at the region. A positive result became even more necessary for Timpanogos when it suffered an upset loss last week to Mountain View.

The win by Lone Peak now puts the Knights two games clear of the rest of the region heading into the last half of the schedule.

"This was a big game for us, a huge game," said Lone Peak coach Mike LaHargoue. "Winning this game, especially on their field, was so big for us."

The two goals came after 60 minutes of ragged and often nervous play, and after a 30 minute lightning delay early in the half.

In the 63rd minute, defender Danika Wright launched a free kick from her own half that landed in the path of Shantel Flanary

When the two defenders near the ball hesitated before making a clearance, Flanary sprinted by with the ball had an easy one-on-one shot past the goalkeeper.

Two minutes later, Flanary worked a shot in the box that bounced hard off the cross bar. Elena Drake ran on to the rebound 25 yards out and launched a perfect long-range strike into the back of the net.

"I was just thinking, 'I hope this goes in so that way we can celebrate,'" said Drake. "It was hard, but we fought through it as a team. We knew we had to get points up on the board."

After Drake's goal, Lone Peak dominated the game while the Timberwolves ran out of energy and ideas in the last 15 minutes. With a two-goal lead in hand, it was an easy job for the Knights to control possession and cruise to the win.

"It was huge to get out on top and not have to be the one to make the adjustments on the fly," said LaHargoue.

"It makes it a lot easier to go up."

Hailey Brown had the shutout in the goal for Lone Peak and only had to make a couple of saves on shots that managed to get through the Knights back line.

In other action Thursday:

REGION 1