4A girls soccer playoffs: East beats back gutsy Pioneers

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Lehi Pioneers almost gave the East Leopards more than they could handle in the first round of the 4A state tournament on Tuesday.

The senior-heavy Pioneers came out with a formation they had never tried before, rotated consistently to keep fresh legs on the field and executed an inventive game plan to put the Leopards on their toes.

It was nearly enough to pull off the upset, but the top-ranked Leopards escaped with a narrow 2-1 victory with a little over a minute remaining in overtime.

"It seems like we always end up getting a very difficult first round game," East head coach Rudy Schenk said. "Lehi is a solid, solid team."

Lehi goalie Ali Houghton was strong in goal, making several good saves at the end of the second half to send the game into overtime. East outshot the Pioneers 11-4 and tallied over 15 corner kicks to set up a number of decent plays at the goal.

"That's definitely more corners than we've ever attempted in a game before," Schenk said. "Their 'keeper made some great saves, and really kept them in it."

The Leopards exploded into the game, dominating the ball in the first 20 minutes before scoring the opening goal off a beautiful corner kick from Savannah Garn. Garn lifted the ball and found an open Megan Trabert right in the center of the goal for the score.

"It was just a perfect ball," Trabert said. "I couldn't have asked for a better shot."

The Leopards didn't see another decent shot attempt on goal until the 26-minute mark of the second half, thanks mainly to stellar play from Lehi's backline and senior Emily Fox in particular.

Fox, a four-year starter for the Pioneers, often plays just defense, but played midfield in Lehi's new rotation and disrupted play throughout the field with tough, hard-nosed soccer.

"She's the heart and soul of our team," Lehi head coach Brett Bergholm said. "She's just an incredible player."

Lehi equalized when Kelsey Hancock hit the back of the net with a header to the corner with 12:20 remaining in regulation.

"We knew if we could continue to pound the ball down the field, eventually a shot would fall," Bergholm said.