No. 2 Wasatch upsets No. 1 Waterford

SANDY — It may have been just another game on the Region 10 schedule, but both sides knew the matchup between No. 1 Waterford and second-ranked Wasatch on Tuesday was an early test not only for region supremacy, but could be an early glimpse at a state title contest.

"We knew that in the rankings one of the two of us had been No. 1 all season, and we wanted to come out and prove that we were the team that deserved it," said Wasatch forward Kim Parker. "We tried not to make too much of it, but in the back of our minds, we knew this game meant a little more."

Perhaps it was because Wasatch felt it had something to prove or maybe it was being the supposed underdog, but it was the Wasps that fought that little bit extra that it takes to win a game of top-caliber teams as they prevailed with a 3-1 win over the Ravens.

"I think that most of the coaches around know that Wasatch can play, but the girls really wanted this one," said Wasps coach Dawain Wheatley. "It was a bit of a statement game, a game to show that we can contend."

It did not take long for Wasatch to prove it was for real. In the ninth minute, Parker dribbled into the penalty area and made a nice move that fooled sweeper Sally Meehan into a tripping call. Parker calmly took the ensuing penalty kick and rolled the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net.

"That early goal kind of set the tone for us," said Parker "It gave us a little more confidence and was a big boost."

Both teams played pretty even for the rest of the opening 40 minutes, but Waterford coach Tim Dolbin must have given quite the halftime speech because the Ravens came out on fire to begin the second half.

It took only two minutes before freshman Taylor Ritzman equalized, tapping in a rebound from a shot by Lanie Ward. It appeared Waterford would seize the momentum from there, but Wasatch regrouped quickly and in the 51st minute Tara Gehring put the Wasps back on top.

"We came out a little slow there to start the second half, but then the girls regained their composure and started playing the way we wanted them to again," added Wheatley.

Parker added an insurance goal in the 67th minute on an assist from Gehring and Wasatch keeper Makayle Price made several nice saves down the stretch to preserve the win.

"We have high goals this season," said Parker. "We want to make it all the way. Too many times Wasatch has lost in the playoffs in the quarter- or semifinals, but this year we know we can make it to the championship game and then win it all."

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