High school girls soccer: Timpanogos gets ninth shutout of the season in crucial Region 8 win over Orem
A single goal made the difference as the Timpanogos Timberwolves took down the Orem Tigers 1-0.
Timpanogos is hitting its stride at the right time, winning seven of its last eight games with only one regular season game remaining.
Despite the close final score, the Timberwolves dominated the possession of the ball and had many attacks on the Orem goal.
Tigers goalkeeper Brooklynn Alkire gave it her best shot and saved all but one corner kick from Timpanogos’ Mary Robers, which was redirected into the goal by Mindi Montague with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
“It was a corner by Mary that I somehow finished with the chest,” said Montague. “We definitely work hard during practice on 50-50 balls. I think putting it all out here, especially on senior night, everyone just brought it.”
Montague’s goal was all Timpanogos needed to best Orem, as the Tigers’ offense struggled to get anything going against the Timberwolves defense.
Despite the numerous shots from Timpanogos, it struggled to find the back of the net. Timberwolves head coach Robyn Bretzing says that’s something they need to fix for a postseason run.
“I feel like the girls are really coming together as a team,” said Bretzing. “They’re starting to create an atmosphere and a team where they know they can win. They know they want to win, so now we’re just trying to complete the final piece which is finishing the ball in the back of the net.”
“I think as a team we’re looking forward to the postseason because I think part of it is you got to peak at the right time. I’ve been watching the last couple of games, I think the girls are going to peak at the right time coming into the postseason. I think you’ll see a different scoring team in the postseason.”
A bright spot for the Timberwolves was its defense. Timpanogos fought for every 50-50 ball and forced many turnovers, stopping all Orem attacks before they could get started. The Tuesday evening win was Timpanogos’ ninth shutout of the season.
“Our defense this season has been our strong point,” said Bretzing. “We’ve shut teams out and we haven’t given a lot of goals up this season so I’m really proud of how the defense played very composed, very calm, and helped us with the beginning of creating opportunities for the offense.”
It was a crucial win for Timpanogos, who are fighting Mountain View for the top spot in Region 8.
The Timberwolves have one more regular season game on Thursday against Provo to solidify their spot at the top of the region, which would be their third Region 8 championship in a row.
