Harris' golden goal beats Hurricane, clinches Region 10 title for Snow Canyon
Snow Canyon’s junior forward Ashlee Harris has scored big goals before.
The Warriors’ leading scorer has three hat-tricks to her credit this season.
But her golden goal against Hurricane in the 88th minute in added time is potentially her biggest yet.
Harris followed a shot by Chloe Vowell that produced a big rebound off Hurricane goalkeeper Ella Jocelyn and potted it for a golden goal to give Snow Canyon a 2-1 win, and sealed the Region 10 championship.
“We were telling the girls all night that we were seeing the keeper bobble the ball a little bit and we thought we could exploit that,” said head coach Connor Brown. “Chloe and Maddie [Clegg] absolutely dominated the midfield tonight and it was awesome. We finally tested the keeper and made her make a save and we said we’d be crashing the net and our players would be there to deliver. And Ashlee, as always, was there to deliver.”
“As soon as I saw that shot, I knew it was our last chance because we were down to like a minute, or something left and so I just had to make sure I crashed one last time,” recalled Harris. “The keeper tapped it out and I was right there for an easy inside touch.”
Harris and many of her teammates all play on the same club team and play as a unit year-round.
“It feels really, really good,” said Harris. “We’ve been waiting for this moment, and we’ve just been working hard. I love my club team and I think it helps us and makes us a better team on varsity.”
Junior Lilly Wittwer opened the scoring in the 8th minute for Snow Canyon, heading home a cross from Warner.
The Warriors had repeated chances throughout the second half, keeping Hurricane hemmed in on their own side of the pitch. Millie Warner frequently found herself open on the near side and had a handful of cross attempts.
None of which could connect with a foot or head of her teammate.
Harris herself had chances before her golden goal, hitting the outside of the post on a shot in the second half.
In the added time, freshman striker Lottie Smith had a breakaway that missed wide on the short side.
Among all the pressure placed by Snow Canyon, the Tigers managed to tie the game at 1-1 in the 67th minute on a goal from senior captain Hailey Lemmon.
Lemmon let a long shot go that bounced and somehow found its way past Allie Lemmon in the net.
Lemmon hadn’t seen much action towards her end all night prior to the goal.
“For a goalkeeper, the mental focus is probably one of the biggest things when she’s not seeing a lot of shots and has to stay in it mentally,” said Brown. “She faces a shot — it’s a bouncing ball which is difficult to handle. Kudos to them, that’s what we were trying to do in testing their keeper. They tested our keeper and got a goal from it.”
In winning Region 10, the Warriors have their first region crown in three seasons.
In 2019, Snow Canyon was 13-3-2 overall with an 11-2-1 record in the region to earn the #3 spot in the 4A State Tournament.
The Warriors were stunned by #14 seed Uintah 1-0 in the first round.
Currently, the Warriors are #3 in the 4A RPI.
In Brown’s first season on the bench, the Warriors have another region title to add to their collection.
“I’m humbled. I inherited a fantastic group of players. It’s been great to get the most out of them and the work effort they’ve put in this season and the desire. Seeing a lot of tough games and quite a few overtimes and coming out on top in every one of those.”
Snow Canyon closes out the regular season against Crimson Cliffs next Tuesday.
Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.
This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Harris' golden goal beats Hurricane, clinches Region title
