High school soccer: Thornock's golden goal helps Bonneville outlast Ogden

OGDEN — Going into overtime was definitely not a scenario Bonneville anticipated seeing unfold against Ogden.

The Lakers had done a good job of creating scoring chances for themselves while holding the Tigers offense in check. But finishing against a physical and aggressive Ogden defense proved next to impossible.

Once the whistle blew to begin overtime, Bonneville became determined to not let the Tigers deny its offense any further.

"We knew that we needed to win this game," junior forward Jaiden Thornock said. "We're not ready to lose, so we knew we needed to come out much harder than them, just take it to them and show them who we really are."

Thornock wasted no time showing Ogden how dangerous of a player she can be. The Laker standout cut through the Tiger backline and slotted the ball past senior goalkeeper Keri Lammert less than a minute into overtime that lifted Bonneville to a 1-0 victory at Mount Ogden Park on Thursday afternoon.

With her golden goal, Thornock brought an abrupt end to a game best defined as a defensive struggle. Neither team could gain much ground over the other.

The Lakers made frequent pushes into Ogden's half. While they succeeded in getting off shots at different points, Lammert or one of her defenders were usually in the right spot to clear out a dangerous ball. Action advanced less frequently into Bonneville's side of the field after halftime. The Tigers threatened on a few free kicks, but the Lakers pressured the ball well enough to keep senior keeper Britty McGregor from feeling too much heat.

Thornock said the strong defensive play on both sides infused a playoff level intensity into the game from the beginning.

"They came out really strong — stronger than we thought they would," Thornock said. "So it did kind of feel like a playoff game. They were attacking us hard, and we were going right back at them."

Bonneville head coach Lane Barker was not surprised at what Ogden threw at the defending 4A champions.

Barker said he expected to see the Tigers be physical and aggressive.

And he also expected them to dole out a high level of pressure in order to disrupt the Laker offense.

But Barker also felt confident that his team could weather the storm, simply because they have proven their ability to navigate tight soccer games — both last season and this season.

"They know that it can be done," Barker said. "We had the same experience against Highland in the preseason. It wasn't quite this intense because it was a preseason game. But they just respond so well (to these situations)."