High school soccer: Ilott's hat trick lifts Lynx to victory

MURRAY — Family issues forced Daniel Ilott to step away from the soccer field for the duration of his junior season. Without him in the lineup, Salt Lake Lutheran made a quick exit from postseason play.

With Ilott on the field this time around, winning a playoff game became a simple task for the Lynx.

Ilott scored a hat trick to lift Salt Lake Lutheran to a convincing 3-1 victory over Gunnison at Murray City Park in first round action of the 2A boys soccer tournament on Wednesday evening. It marked the first ever 2A tournament victory for the Lynx (6-4-1) and snapped a three-game losing streak.

Ilott and his teammates felt confident, even while the losing streak continued to grow, that they could engineer a turnaround in the playoffs.

"We had our heads up because we knew we were better than that," Ilott said.

One reason why a reversal of fortune finally happened is that the Bulldogs (9-7) never found a way to contain Ilott through 80 minutes.

The senior forward opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he slotted in a ball along the left side of Gunnison keeper Diego Herrera.

He put Lutheran up 2-0 in the 34th minute after tracking down a ball served past midfield. Ilott had a defender flanking each side of him when he began his attack. Once he moved a couple inches past both of them, Ilott unleashed a rocket that zipped right past Herrera on the line.

His third goal came in the 59th minute when Ilott threaded his way through the Bulldog backline and punched the ball in at the right post to make it 3-0 for the Lynx.

Lutheran coach John Hughes said that Ilott is a great finisher when given the opportunity to make a play.

"He's got that ability to score a goal under almost any condition," Hughes said.

Gunnison seemed like the team more built for scoring coming into the game. The Bulldogs averaged 3.6 goals per game, which ranked sixth among 2A schools. The Lynx, on the other hand, averaged just 1.8 goals per game.

But Lutheran also allowed just 1.2 goals per game, and that defensive stinginess proved a difference maker. Gunnison struggled to create quality chances for itself. Indeed, the Bulldogs' only goal — a volley from Ricardo Mendoza after Lynx keeper Colton Bradley redirected the ball right to him on a save attempt — did not occur until the final minute of the game.

"We were able to keep them from taking easy shots," Hughes said.

"The shots they got were difficult, and so they had a hard time putting them in. They had some opportunities, but they didn't have any unchallenged opportunities."

Lutheran will now face Rowland Hall on Saturday at 1 p.m.

EMAIL: jcoon@desnews.com