High school girls soccer: Skyridge dominates second half, beats American Fork 5-3 in second round of 6A playoffs

After splitting both games in the regular season, No. 7 seed Skyridge used a second-half shutout from goalkeeper Kait Meyer to complete an impressive comeback and beat No. 10 seed American Fork 5-3 on Tuesday in 6A girls soccer second-round playoff action.

This second-round playoff game was a high-scoring affair that included multiple lead changes, an impressive number of shot attempts and an exceptional display of talent from both teams.

The Skyridge Falcons are led by senior forward Cambria Lee. Coming into the game, she led the team with 12 goals and seven assists. She scored another two goals and added two more assists Tuesday. Cambri Condi, Rachel Boren and Aly Johns also recorded goals.

Skyridge went into the second half down 3-2, a slow start that isn’t exactly normal for coach Toby Peterson’s team.

”From my standpoint today, we came out a little sluggish on the defensive side of things,” Peterson said. “They were kind of working around us in the first half, and we asked them to make some adjustments in the second half, and they did. They locked it down, and I couldn’t be prouder of our defense.”

While the defense flipped the script in the second half, no one did more than goalkeeper Kait Meyer. The 5-foot-9 senior used every inch of her reach to stop various well-placed shots from American Fork. She also used her speed to outrun defenders to the ball on breakaways. But more than anything, she used her leg to boot the ball nearly the length of the field to keep her team attacking on offense.

When asked about Kait’s second half, Peterson said, ”We couldn’t do it without her. Kait’s had to feel the majority of the reps all the way through the season. When it’s needed, she just locks things down, and she does really well.”

Another player locking things down was senior forward, midfielder and striker Boren. The Utah Tech commit played with a force the entire game, and that force intensified as Skyridge made its comeback. The most physical player on the field, Boren used her height and strength to block out American Fork defenders and her speed to outrun everyone to her sixth goal of the season.

In the physical matchup, Peterson stressed the importance of not just being physical but also being patient. His team did this well, as they possessed the ball most of the game.

”We know that from working with American Fork, they’re really disciplined on their back line, and they’re really fast. We knew that we couldn’t just send the ball over the top and run to it. They would’ve picked us apart if we did that,” Peterson said.

“Our mantra has been patience: work up through the middle third and find the slot as we get into that final third. When we pointed that out in the second half, I felt like we really came together. We talked to them about breathing, the importance of breathing and not panicking, and I think it all paid off in the second half.”

Skyridge will play the winner of Mountain Ridge vs. Riverton in the quarterfinals on Thursday.