Being the only undefeated and untied girls soccer team in the state creates a certain set of expectations for East. The Leopards have seen games grow in intensity as each new opponent comes in trying to make a name for itself by being the team to hand East its first loss.

"Every other team knows that we're undefeated, so they want to come out at us even harder," junior midfielder Kendra Nelson said. "We're a big target right now, so it can get intense."

The Leopards may be a target, but they continue to find ways to keep other teams from finding the bull's-eye. East withstood a stiff challenge from Bountiful by exploding for three goals in the final 15 minutes to claim a 4-2 victory over the Braves on Tuesday afternoon.

Saralyn Drury scored a pair of goals and Tessa Nicolaides added a goal and a pair of assists to help the Leopards (13-0) keep their perfect record intact.

Things looked a little dicey for a while after halftime. With the score knotted at 1-1, the Braves (10-3) went on the attack to start the second half. They repeatedly pushed into East's half and unloaded one shot after another.

Bountiful's Felicia Sturgeon and Paige Hunt did a good job of making their presence known in the midfield by winning balls and creating takeaways to keep the Leopards out of sorts.

Bountiful could have taken a lead as the half wore on, if not for some fantastic saves by East's senior goalkeeper, Michelle Price.

"They really had us on the ropes," East coach Rudy Schenk said. "We were fortunate to not give up a goal or two in that stretch."

The turning point for both teams came in the 68th minute when Nicolaides converted a penalty kick — slotting the ball past the left side of goalkeeper Carly Longhurst — to give East a 2-1 lead. From there, the floodgates opened for the Leopard offense.

Nelson made it 3-1 in the 78th minute when she beat Alayna Eiting and Longhurst to a ball near the left post. Eiting was originally in front of her when Nelson went for the ball. She managed to get around her and her foot beat Longhurst's glove by a split second. She flicked it forward just enough for the ball to elude Longhurst's fingertips and find the back of the net.