Sandy • Logan Duran struggled to find the words to explain the emotions behind the tears streaming down her cheeks.
It was pride. And achievement. And finality. And history.
Duran scored a hat trick Saturday afternoon to give the Trojans a 4-1 victory against Judge Memorial in the Class 3A state title game at Rio Tinto Stadium and claim Morgan’s first girls’ soccer title.
“It’s my senior year, and we worked so hard for this and I’m tearing up right now,” Duran said. “It hasn’t fully registered yet. I’m still shaking.
“Knowing how much was on the line, I [wanted] to represent every person who was here — my school, my community. I have so much on my shoulders and I thought I should make them proud.”
That, she did. Duran’s three goals were a single-game high and gave her 13 for the season. In the first half, she dribbled through the Bulldog defense and rocketed a shot to into the lower right corner to put the Trojans (15-5) up 2-0 just eight minutes into the game.
A quick outlet pass after a Judge corner kick set Duran up for a breakaway goal in the 49th minute. A similar breakaway in the 74th minute capped the scoring and gave her four goals in the postseason.
The win was Morgan’s 14th in a row after starting the season 1-5, and marked the fifth time Duran scored multiple goals in a game this season.
“Why the D-1 schools aren’t picking her up is beyond me,” Morgan coach Bryan Searle said. “She’s incredible. She’s played that way for many years for me.”
Morgan 4, Judge Memorial 1<br>Senior striker Logan Duran scores a hat trick to give the Trojans their first state soccer title.<br>Rhylee Freeman scores the first goal for Morgan, which won its 14th game in a row.<br>Sophia Ewing scored off a corner kick in the 20th minute for Judge, which was seeking its fourth state title and first since 2007.
Duran excited the Morgan faithful several more times with tantalizingly close scoring chances throughout the game.
Scoring early alleviated some nerves for the Trojans. Rhylee Freeman headed in a corner kick from Morgan Cragun just two minutes into the game for the early advantage.
Sophia Ewing scored on a corner kick in the 20th minute for Judge (9-6-1), which was unable to complete its unlikely run through the postseason. The Bulldogs were making their first postseason appearance since 2012 and hadn’t won a playoff game since 2011.
Ewing’s goal was the only one Morgan allowed in its four playoff games, after shutting out its first three opponents.