Brighton Girls Soccer
WINS REGION
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
High school soccer: Brighton tops region foe Alta for first time since 2010, earns share of region title
Scoreboard »
| Brighton | Alta |
| 4 | 2 |
Such was the case Thursday afternoon, as the Bengals went to Alta’s home field and walked away with a 4-2 victory to stun the first-place Hawks and take a piece of the Region 3 trophy back to Cottonwood Heights.
“You can’t match the energy of a Brighton-Alta game. It’s always just phenomenal,” Brighton head coach Mark Stoker said. “They have a phenomenal squad and they bring high intensity every game, so we knew we had to come with everything we’ve got, and today we did that.”
Brighton (13-2-1, 9-1-0) came out and hit the ground running, putting Alta (14-2-0, 9-1-0) up against the ropes with its high intensity and urgency to take an early lead.
After a couple of missed shot attempts, the suffocating Brighton defense led to some offense as the Bengals scored twice in under five minutes. Senior Angie Timmand junior Rachel Powley each found twine to open up a 2-0 edge with less than 20 minutes left in the half.
“It’s unbelievable what they were able to do today,” Stoker said of his team’s defensive performance. “We put a lot of pressure on their back line, and our defense continued to step up every single time. It was huge for our offense.”
Alta finally started to find a rhythm and was able to cut its deficit in half off a last-second goal in stoppage time just before the break.
Then, in the 69th minute, junior striker Meghan Walkerstole the ball from a Brighton defender, made a couple of moves, and sent the ball into the back of the net to tie things up at 2-2.
After watching their two-goal lead slip through their fingertips, the Bengals quickly regrouped before showing the Hawks exactly why they are the 5A defending champs.
In the 73rd minute, Powley scored her second goal of the day, followed by senior Sydney Seamons’ score in stoppage time, preserving the 4-2 win and a piece of the region title for the blue and orange. It was the Bengals’ first victory over the Hawks since 2010.
“It feels awesome,” Timm said of the win. “We haven’t beat them in several years, so this feels amazing to finally beat them. We really worked hard as a team and we deserve it.”
With the win, Brighton secured the No. 1 seed out of Region 3 and picked up some much-needed momentum to help defend its crown heading into the 5A tournament.
“You always want to have the train at the top of the hill at the end of the season running into the playoffs, and I think it’s going in the right direction,” added Stoker. “We just need to keep pursuing the goals we have and take it one step at a time.”
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
High school soccer: Brighton outlasts Copper Hills, 3-1
For the Deseret News
Scoreboard »
| Brighton | Copper Hills |
| 3 | 1 |
WEST JORDAN — Brighton went on the road to tangle with Copper Hills Tuesday in girls prep soccer action, and in a game that was much closer than the score indicates, the Bengals earned a much-needed 3-1 victory.
The Bengals jumped to an early lead when Ashley Christensen scored off of a corner kick in the first few minutes of the game. However, the lead didn't last very long when the Grizzlies took the ball from a Bengal defender, then sliced through two more Bengal defenders and slipped a shot past the Brighton keeper, tying the game 1-1.
A short time later the ref called a foul on a Brighton defender right on the edge of the 18, which resulted in a penalty kick for the Grizzlies. The shot, however, sailed wide.
The rest of the first half was back and forth with both teams playing physical soccer. The Bengals had the better chances to score with at least two shots clanking off the post and crossbar.
They finally cashed in on one of those chances right before half when Christensen volleyed home another goal — her second of the game — making the score 2-1 Brighton at the half.
The score remained the same in the physical second half until the Bengals crossed a ball into the box, where a shot volleyed off of the crossbar. Janessa Garcia recovered her original shot and put the rebound in for the goal to give the Bengals the 3-1 lead.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
High school soccer: Alta defeats defending champions Brighton 1-0
Scoreboard »
| Alta | Brighton |
| 1 | 0 |
SANDY — In the scorching heat of the September sun, it was Alta that walked away with a 1-0 victory Thursday afternoon.
Temperatures were in the 90s for a majority of the match, with a warm wind calmly blowing to exhaust the players and those in attendance.
“This is what fall soccer brings. You get those 80 and 90 degree temperatures, and when you get a day like this it makes it harder,” said Alta head coach Lee Mitchell.
Brighton, playing host Thursday, provided the first attempt of the afternoon.
Rachel Powley used her body to get around the Alta defender at the top of the box, collecting the ball and putting a shot on the far post that rolled just wide in the sixth minute.
It would be nearly 20 minutes before either team would create some action in the attacking third of the pitch.
Sadie Mertlich, looking for her 14th goal of the season for Alta, saw her first attempt roll away and out for a goal kick after a dangerous ball into the area by Caroline Corbett bounced around and failed to be cleared by the Bengals.
“One of the most difficult things to do is to get a win here at Brighton,” said Mitchell. “You don’t need to say much about this matchup. Alta/Brighton is a different level, and we look forward to this game all year long.”
In the 26th minute, it was Powley again for Brighton.
This time around, it was Alta goalkeeper Isabel Joneswith a diving effort to deflect a beautiful shot at the far post. Just moments later, it was the ‘keeper Jones again with a diving save to prevent a Brighton shot on frame from distance by McKell Kellogg.
“There’s no question that she was the player of the game,” Paskins said about her keeper between the posts. “They kept shooting at her, and she stayed solid and did awesome.”
On the counter for the Hawks, Mertlich took the ball into the box, only to have her shot on goal deflected away by a sliding Brighton ‘keeper Megan Turner. The Bengals were then able to clear the ball rolling dangerously near the top of the box.
The second half had Brighton controlling the ball and the pace of the game, but it resulted in a letdown.
Sydney Seamons put the first shot on goal for Brighton in the second half, but Hawks’ keeper Jones easily collected it. Two minutes later, in the 48th minute,Angie Timm skill checked around the Alta defender into the box, but the Hawks’ keeper Jones thwarted her bending left-footed shot.
The visitors then had the whistle blow in their favor.
After the referee awarded the penalty kick, it wasWhitney Paskins who stepped up for Alta to bury the penalty for her sixth goal of the season. A diving Megan Turner guessed the right way, but the ball rolled right underneath the Bengals keeper.
“It was definitely a team effort, I just happened to take the shot,” said Paskins. “We always look forward to the Brighton games because they’re our rival. They’re the defending state champs, but we have some depth and knew we had a chance. We don’t overlook other teams, and we don’t overlook our abilities either.”
Brighton would have an attempt to equalize moments later on a dangerous free kick outside the box, but the shot deflected into the side netting.
“For now, it was the most important game all year that we just played, but we play Jordan on Saturday and now that’s the most important game," said Mitchell. "This is just one game, and that’s all it means.”
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Girls soccer: Brighton Bengals bury the Bingham Miners
For the Deseret News
Scoreboard »
| Brighton | Bingham |
| 4 | 1 |
Brighton's Ashley Christensen tries to hold off Bingham's Peri Hodgson. (Larry Brinkerhoff, Copyright 2013 Larry Brinkerhoff Photography)
Brighton went on the road and beat Bingham 4-1 in girls soccer on Tuesday. The Bengals jumped to an early lead when midfielder Ashley Christensen took a shot less than a minute into the game that made it past Bingham's keeper,Madison Loftus.
The Miners' defense felt Christensen was offside, but when the flag stayed down, Christensen calmly made the shot. The Miners came right back, looking to tie the game up, and earned a corner kick. During the corner kick, a Bingham player was fouled in the box by a Brighton defender, which is an automatic penalty kick. However the penalty kick was shot wide of the goal, so the Miners still trailed 1-0.
That's when Bengal forward Angie Timmtook over. With 15 minutes left in the half, using her quickness and speed, Timm sliced through the Bingham defense and took a shot from just outside the 18 that found the upper right-hand side of the goal. Then later, in the final seconds of the first half, Timm took a corner kick that bent high over the keeper and found the side netting. When the ref blew his whistle for halftime, the score was 3-0 in favor of Brighton.
The Miners came out more physical in the second half and made some great runs that put the Bengals' defense on its heals. That pressure culminated in a shot from distance by Peri Hodgson that just made it under the crossbar for the Miners' first and only goal. Brighton controlled possession of the ball for most of the second half, and had several shots on goal, but couldn't seem to score.
Brighton's final goal of the game came off a Sydney Seamons' cross that Janessa Gracia slide tackled into the back of the net for the final 4-1 score.
The Bengals' defense and midfield had another stong performance and the team looks to be in good form. The Bengals will meet the Alta Hawks at home on Thursday in a pivotal region match.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
High school girls soccer: Brighton thunders past West Jordan
For the Deseret News
Brighton's Angie Timm slices through the West Jordan defense on her way to a hat trick Tuesday in girls prep soccer action.
Brighton had to overcome West Jordan and Mother Nature to get another win. When the referee blew the whistle to signal the start of the match between West Jordan and Brighton, the rain started to come down in waves. The girls from both sides tried to make the best of the situation, but the soccer was slow as the wind began to swirl and the rain seemed to come from every direction. About 15 minutes into the game, the referee blew his whistle again and cleared the field as lightning was seen in the area. At the time of the delay, the game was still 0-0.
After a 40 minute delay, the players from both teams took the field again, but it felt like the girls from West Jordan didn't want to brave the elements any longer. They came out flat from the break, and the Bengals jumped all over them and quickly scored. They played a ball forward and their striker, Angie Timm, outran the defense and laced a shot beyond the reach of the West Jordan goalkeeper. This was the beginning of things to come as Timm went on to score three more goals (a hat trick) before halftime. Junior Rachel Powley added another goal off of a great cross from Bri Sperry to make the score 4-0 for Brighton at the half.
The second half proved to be more of the same as the Bengals got goals from Powley (her second of the game), Janessa Gracia and Sarah Fankhauser to make the final 7-0. Lost in all the goals from the Bengals was the hustle and grit from many of the Jaguar players. Even though they were behind and the game was out of reach, they still continued to play clean and gave it their all. This was clear for several of the West Jordan players, butJaclyn Atencio continually sprinted up and down the field, fighting to the end.
Friday, August 29, 2014
High school girls soccer: Brighton Bengals outlast Hillcrest Huskies
For the Deseret News
Angie Timm looks to make a move against a Hillcrest defender.
Brighton faced off with Hillcrest in girls soccer on Thursday under the lights at Huskies Stadium. These two teams used to be in the same region where they would play each other home and away, but since the region was changed a few years ago, the two hadn't done battle until Thursday.
The teams played before large and vocal student sections from both teams. The game started off with the teams seeming to feel each other out, not wanting to make any mistakes early.
The Huskies had the game's first shot on goal when forward Skye Jefferies, with some deft footwork, split two Brighton defenders and took a shot from 20 yards. The Brighton keeper, junior Megan Turner, had to use every inch of her reach to push the shot wide of the frame to keep the game scoreless.
Brighton went on to control possession for the rest of the first half and was able to break through a short time later when senior Angie Timm used a burst of speed to get past the Huskies' defense. She side-stepped their keeper, Nicole Jessen, and calmly put it in the back of the net for the game's first goal.
The second half was more of the same with the Bengals possessing the ball the majority of the time. The Bengals' midfielders were outstanding, led by seniors Libby Dearden, Sydney Seamons and Ashley Christensen, who constantly made good decisions with the ball.
While Brighton passed the ball around, it continued to put pressure on the Huskies, probing for a hole in the defense. Halfway through the second half, Brighton found a small crack in the defense, which Angie Timm scampered through with the ball. She crossed the ball in front of the goal, where junior Taylor Kasteler cracked it in past the keeper for the game's second goal.
The Bengals' defense held on the rest of the game to keep the Huskies without a goal, thanks to a solid back line and good goalkeeping. The final score was 2-0 in favor of Brighton.
The Bengals don't play again until next Thursday, when they will host Copper Hills in their first region game.
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