Herriman • Layton knew it needed to come out hot to have a chance at the upset.
The Lancers scored two goals in the first half and kept their foot on the gas, outlasting a passionate Herriman team 4-2 in a hard fought and physical Class 6A girls’ soccer playoff game Tuesday.
“It was really important for us to score first because they have scored the most goals out of any 6A team, so we knew we had to jump on them early so they had to play defense rather than offense,” Layton coach Tara Ferrin said.
Layton scored first in the 15th minute when Corrine Casel took a free kick from close to midfield. She floated the ball up toward the Herriman keeper, who was unable to get a handle on the ball. Abbee Smith headed the ball into the back of the net.
The Lancers doubled their lead in the 23rd minute when Kinlee McMillan found herself on the receiving end of a cross and sneaked a low driving shot past the keeper.
“Getting a 2-0 lead is always good in soccer,” Casel said. “You can kind of sit back a little more and relax a little more, and it helped us to keep the energy through the entire game.”
Layton seemed to put the game out of reach when Casel got a head on a corner kick, putting the ball into the upper left side of the net.
But Herriman fought to the end and made it interesting when Abigil Hymus scored in the 70th and 76th minute. The Mustangs applied the pressure for the final 10 minutes, but they eventually ran out of time.
“In the second half, we gave them a few too many runs,” Ferrin said. “All in all, we challenged every ball, and that is definitely a good thing. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going into the next round.”