High school girls soccer: Late-game heroics lift Copper Hills to win over Mountain Ridge

For over three hours, Copper Hills trailed by a goal against undefeated Mountain Ridge.

But in the end, the Grizzlies rallied to a 2-1 win over the Sentinels in an overtime thriller.

Mountain RIdge has been a problem for Copper Hills the last few seasons, and Tuesday’s win marked the first time the Grizzlies have beaten Mountain Ridge since September 9, 2021.

Copper Hills lost convincingly in five consecutive games with Mountain Ridge outscoring the Grizzlies a total of 22-3.

On Tuesday, Mountain Ridge was in the driver’s seat from the beginning, with Kelsie Peterson ’s goal off an assist from Kya Newton in the second minute of the game.

Immediately after the goal, the game halted with a two-hour lighting delay, and the Grizzlies had to sit ruminating on that allowed goal.

Still, Copper Hills knew there would be plenty of time left once the game resumed.

“Initially we were a little bit upset because we had started well and let one get away from us,” said Copper Hills head coach Justin Hendrix. “We’ve got a lot of senior leadership on this team, and we’ve got a lot of girls that have a lot of heart that never quit.”

After the lengthy delay, Copper Hills struggled to find an equalizer and still trailed 1-0 at halftime. While the Grizzlies’ offense found a few better chances in the second half, the Mountain Ridge defense held off nearly every attack.

Then in the 77th minute, Copper Hills’ Brenna Arauzo had a chance but was fouled by the Sentinels in the box. Teammate Sydney Torres stepped up to take the penalty kick and found the back of the net to tie the game 1-1 and ultimately force overtime.

“I have confidence in myself, and I just thought, ‘This is for the tie, and I can’t let my team down nor myself,” said Torres. “I just knew I had to put this goal away, so I just found my corner and I put it away.”

While Torres forced an overtime, this year’s Mountain Ridge team is no stranger to clutching games in extra sessions, as it beat both Davis and Skyridge in overtime this season.

Copper Hills made sure this time was different. With 59 seconds left, Torres broke away and found Camila Palafox , who punched in the golden goal and handed Mountain Ridge its first loss of the season.

“It was a lot of pressure off your shoulders,” said Palafox, who leads Copper Hills in scoring with nine goals. “The adrenaline hit after seeing my head coach running onto the field, so it was just a natural reaction to start running and it was just a surreal moment.

“I was upset going off for those two hours. We started well, had a few chances and Mountain Ridge is a good enough team to finish off that goal. It was amazing to see me and my teammates come back out and leave everything on the field. It was just pure passion.”

It was a good bounce back win from Copper Hills’ 3-2 overtime loss to Corner Canyon last Thursday. The win over Mountain Ridge keeps Copper Hills tied for second in Region 2 with a 3-1 region record.

“I saw a lot of grit, a lot of heart and a lot of determination,” said Hendrix. “This team never ceases to amaze me. I love these girls, and they don’t quit fighting. They always give everything they got and I’m just super proud of them today.”