Highland girls soccer off to good start this season
Sep 07, 2018 15h46 ● By Jana KlopschBy Josh McFadden | [email protected]
Despite suffering through some tough losing streaks last season, the Highland girls soccer team still had some noteworthy accomplishments.
The Rams qualified for the Class 5A state tournament but ultimately fell in the first round to Timpanogos 2-1. Highland didn’t get to the postseason by a large margin. The Rams secured the fourth and final spot from Region 6, narrowly beating out fifth-place Olympus. The Rams were 4-6 in region play, while the Titans were just behind at 3-6-1.
Three games into the 2018 season, Highland wasn’t far off its 2017 win total.
Last season, Highland went 5-11-1 overall. This included a five-game losing streak in region play and an early stretch of the year in which it went five games without a victory (four losses and a tie). But this year started off on the right foot.
Starting with the season opener on Aug. 7 against Judge Memorial, the Rams reeled off victories in each of their first three games. Interestingly, all three wins came by the identical score of 2-1. During the stretch, the Rams also upended Class 6A’s Riverton along with Park City, a Class 4A team that won 10 games last season.
During the three games, Adelyn Croft and Annie Murdock had each scored two goals, while Cass Connor and Freedom Flowers had each contributed one.
Murdock will be counted on heavily this season after leading the Rams with a modest five goals last season. No other returning player scored more than one goal a year ago, as the Rams struggled to find the net in 2017. Highland was shut out seven times a year ago and hopes to reverse that trend this season.
Defensively, the Rams return some defenders on a unit that had mixed results last season. Highland pitched a pair of shutouts and held opponents to one goal in three other contests. But Highland also allowed four or more goals seven times in 2017.
It won’t be easy for Highland to climb up the Region 6 standings. Skyline is a favorite to compete for the state title, and East returns a talented team as well.
Highland played at Cottonwood on Aug. 16 and hosted Bingham the following day. Both games were played after press deadline. The Rams conclude the non-region portion of the schedule Aug. 23 at home against Region 7 opponent Brighton. Region 6 action kicks off Aug. 28 when the Rams host Olympus.
Highland has advanced to the state tournament each of the last two season. Both appearances ended in first-round losses. The Rams last moved past the first round in 2013 when it lost in the 4A quarterfinals.