High school soccer: Eagles kick around Colts this time

SALT LAKE CITY — Playing the role of spoiler in Skyline's march through Region 2 last season earned Cottonwood High an extra dose of attention from the Eagles.

The Colts pulled off an upset victory that kept Skyline from getting through region play without a loss, and the last thing the Eagles wanted to see was that particular bit of history be given a repeat performance.

"I told them it's not going to happen again," Skyline coach Yamil Castillo said. "The goal is to go undefeated in the region."

The Eagles stayed on target in making good on their quest to go unbeaten in region play, overwhelming Cottonwood on both sides of the ball to soar away with a 4-1 victory on Tuesday afternoon.

Skyline (6-2-1) took awhile to put its first goal on the board, but had no trouble finding the net after that initial strike.

Devin Powers broke the ice in the 27th minute when she sent in a volley from the right flank and the ball slid under the crossbar and dropped behind Colts goalkeeper Miranda Newsome.

Maddy Williamsen punched in another goal just two minutes later to give the Eagles a quick 2-0 lead.

Skyline forward Ashley Aberton credited the team's commitment on the defensive end to making things happen offensively. The Eagles did a good job of limiting quality scoring chances for Cottonwood (4-3-1) and were aggressive in winning several 50/50 balls.

"Our defense definitely shut them down first," Aberton said. "Without the defense, we couldn't even get it up to the offense. I felt like once the defense picked it up, we picked it up in the midfield and then with the forwards as well."

The Colts did make things interesting for a brief time in the second half. Cottonwood made it a 2-1 game in the 54th minute when Holly Taylor tracked down a loose ball just up from the left post and slotted a low ball inside the post.

Any threat of a rally ended in the 56th minute when Aberton put home Skyline's third goal of the game. The Eagles got an insurance goal in the 69th minute when Elizabeth Armstrong snagged a loose ball away from Newsome off a shot attempt and flicked it past her alongside the right post.

Castillo credited his team's deeper bench with being a factor in helping the Eagles not worry about weathering a second-half rally.

"We started to do our rotations and the players from the other team started to get tired," Castillo said. "That's when we took advantage and put them away."

e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com