High school girls soccer: Herriman bests Mountain Ridge for solid spot atop Region 2

Herriman sophomore and second-year starter Hanna Carver missed many games this season due to an ankle and leg injury. She tried to come back in last week’s game against Riverton but had to be taken off after 15 minutes due to pain.

Carver finally got the chance to play a full game in arguably the biggest contest of the season so far for Herriman Tuesday against Region 2 rival Mountain Ridge. The Mustangs and Sentinels have been on a collision course at the top of the region standings.

Herriman beat Mountain Ridge in penalty kicks in the teams’ matchup earlier this year, and on Tuesday Carver didn’t let the opportunity to play slip by as she scored the golden goal in overtime for the huge 2-1 win.

“We are so blessed to have her,” said Herriman assistant coach Lance Short, who filled in as head coach on Tuesday. “She’s just an amazing player. As long as she stays healthy, I don’t see Hanna not being a 4-year starter for us varsity-wise.”

The first half was as close as it gets. Both teams fought for possession, and neither gave up significant scoring opportunities.

With a halftime score of 0-0, chances to break the stalemate were dwindling.

However, Herriman finally broke through in the 53rd minute when Scarlett Judd was in the right place at the right time to put away a ball from Mustangs leading scorer Kaylee Carlson that had bounced off the left crossbar.

“Our goal after halftime was to push forward on them, and we struggled with that in the first half,” Short said. “I think we found our mojo a little after that halftime.

“We got together and talked about our game plan again and got going again, and the girls played really, really hard the second half, and I’m really, really proud of them. They deserve all of every bit of this.”

Photo Gallery: 1 of 43

1 of 43

Photo Gallery: 2 of 43

2 of 43

Photo Gallery: 3 of 43

3 of 43

Photo Gallery: 4 of 43

4 of 43

Photo Gallery: 5 of 43

5 of 43

Photo Gallery: 6 of 43

6 of 43

Photo Gallery: 7 of 43

7 of 43

Photo Gallery: 8 of 43

8 of 43

Photo Gallery: 9 of 43

9 of 43

Photo Gallery: 10 of 43

10 of 43

Photo Gallery: 11 of 43

11 of 43

Photo Gallery: 12 of 43

12 of 43

Photo Gallery: 13 of 43

13 of 43

Photo Gallery: 14 of 43

14 of 43

Photo Gallery: 15 of 43

15 of 43

Photo Gallery: 16 of 43

16 of 43

Photo Gallery: 17 of 43

17 of 43

Photo Gallery: 18 of 43

18 of 43

Photo Gallery: 19 of 43

19 of 43

Photo Gallery: 20 of 43

20 of 43

Photo Gallery: 21 of 43

21 of 43

Photo Gallery: 22 of 43

22 of 43

Photo Gallery: 23 of 43

23 of 43

Photo Gallery: 24 of 43

24 of 43

Photo Gallery: 25 of 43

25 of 43

Photo Gallery: 26 of 43

26 of 43

Photo Gallery: 27 of 43

27 of 43

Photo Gallery: 28 of 43

28 of 43

Photo Gallery: 29 of 43

29 of 43

Photo Gallery: 30 of 43

30 of 43

Photo Gallery: 31 of 43

31 of 43

Photo Gallery: 32 of 43

32 of 43

Photo Gallery: 33 of 43

33 of 43

Photo Gallery: 34 of 43

34 of 43

Photo Gallery: 35 of 43

35 of 43

Photo Gallery: 36 of 43

36 of 43

Photo Gallery: 37 of 43

37 of 43

Photo Gallery: 38 of 43

38 of 43

Photo Gallery: 39 of 43

39 of 43

Photo Gallery: 40 of 43

40 of 43

Photo Gallery: 41 of 43

41 of 43

Photo Gallery: 42 of 43

42 of 43

Photo Gallery: 43 of 43

43 of 43

Mountain Ridge didn’t go down without a fight. The Sentinels started pressuring the Mustangs’ back line more heavily, and Kelsey Goodwin got fouled in the box.

She took advantage and scored her 17th goal of the year to even the score 1-1 in the 67th minute. As regulation ended and overtime started, Mountain Ridge had all the momentum.

Still, Herriman answered with heavy pressure and really got into the final third in the last remaining minutes of overtime, and a great shot on goal was saved by Mountain Ridge’s McKinley Stowell to keep the game alive.

But just a minute later, a shot from Carver bounced down off the top crossbar and Mountain Ridge crashed toward the ball.

For a moment, it seemed Mountain Ridge somehow survived the onslaught, but the sideline referee saw the ball bounce behind the line on Carver’s shot, and Herriman was awarded the golden goal.

“I couldn’t tell if it was in, but I’m really glad that it was,” said Carver. “I want to thank my coaches and my amazing teammates. We’ve just all been working so well together, and I just think it’s been a really fun season so far and I’ve loved playing with them.”

Tuesday’s game had significant ramifications for the Region 2 standings. Herriman now holds a two-game lead over the second-placed Sentinels and Bingham Miners.

It’s been quite a turnaround from the start of the season for Herriman. The Mustangs faced a tough nonregion schedule and then opened region play on a rough note. In total, Herriman went 0-4 in nonregion play and 1-1 to start region play.

But the Mustangs have now won eight consecutive games. If they can stay on this trajectory, it would be their first region title since 2020.

“All the teams we played in the preseason were originally ranked in the top 5, and we did that on purpose because we knew that we had a pretty good team coming back,” Short said. “Young, but we knew we were going to be pretty good on paper. I felt we struggled at times preseason-wise, but we also competed and played well...

“Our girls, we just got them to finally believe in themselves that they can play and they can play with anyone in the 6A level. You can see it in the little bit of swagger they have at practice and games, and they’re feeling pretty good.”