High school soccer: Brighton ends Copper Hills season

WEST JORDAN — Copper Hills coach Michael Shaughnessy compared Friday's 5A quarterfinal matchup against Brighton as a "beautiful game."

It was competitive, physical, exciting and more. The only problem was that it wasn't a win. The Bengals ended Copper Hills' season Friday evening with a 1-0 victory.

Taylor Fankhauser's corner kick got over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Taylor Ruff just 20 minutes into the match. It was a perfect kick that curved into the front right-hand side of the net and that was all the Bengals needed to advance to the semifinals, where they will play Murray Tuesday at Woods Cross High School.

"It was a nice kick. It was a really strong kick," said Brighton coach Russ Boyer. "We started to crash the goal but the ball went in by itself. "

Copper Hills threatened several times, and Connor Thompson even put a shot into the net late in the match, but it was disallowed by the referee. Thompson's shot came on a rebound after Brighton keeper Aaron Stoddard had grabbed an easy shot while he was hit by a Copper Hills player.

Stoddard fumbled the ball, and Thompson took advantage.

"Our boy challenged the keeper, which he's allowed to do," said Shaughnessy, describing the play. "It was a free ball. If that would have counted, it's a different game."

The official quickly made the call, and his ruling didn't result in a frenzy to the boisterous crowd. It ended up being one of the game's key plays.

Shaughnessy said the game officials didn't explain the actual foul to him, and didn't try to talk to them after the game. He felt that if Copper Hills would have scored on the play, the Grizzlies would have eventually won the match.

"It was a great game; an exciting game," he said. "It's disappointing that we worked so hard and played so well, but didn't win. For most of the game, we looked like the team that would move on."

Boyer admitted the Bengals didn't play their best. However, they made enough plays to win on their opponent's soggy field and improved their record to 12-1-4. The teams played twice this season and Brighton won both times.

"We were a completely different team when we played last time, and I'm sure they were, too," Boyer said. "Copper Hills is a good team and both of our games have been very close. It's going to be fun next year when we are both in the same region."

Copper Hills finished its season with a 15-2-1 record. Shaughnessy was sad to see the season end and praised his defense, which recorded shutouts in 11 of its 18 games.

"It's a beautiful game when you have good ball control, good passing and good movement," he said. "Taylor Ruff had a great season. We were a fun team to watch."