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Dixie, Waterford win state championships in 3A, 2A soccer

Posted at 10:40 PM, May 11, 2014
and last updated 2014-05-12 00:40:29-04

SANDY, Utah -- The Utah boy’s high school soccer season is coming to a close, some sooner than others.

The 3A and 2A teams faced off in the finals in Rio Tinto Stadium to see who would go home with a title.

Dixie and Cedar faced off in the 3A match up on Saturday morning. Dixie got the lead early with a goal in the 10th minute from midfielder Tyler Bennett.

Senior captain Ceasar Perez extended the lead just eight minutes later when he connected with McLane Keenan to put one in the back of the net.

The Flyers added cushion to their lead in the second half when Keenan connected with senior Luis Rabago for their final score of the game.

Cedar didn't allow the shut out though, Brett Sillitoe edged a goal past the Flyers. But, the Flyers took their second title in three years with a 3-1 victory.

"I can't explain how good it feels, dude. Just in general, after you score, you don't know what to do, you just start screaming," Perez said.

"It feels great, you know, it doesn't feel real yet,” Bennett added. “It still feels like a dream, but I love these guys and I'm glad we could do it.”

A lot of the Dixie students work during the week to help support their families.

"They help provide for their families and they come out here and give us this,"  Flyers Head Coach Burt Meyers said. "I mean, it's just awesome and that's why it's so sweet."

After the 3A game, 2A teams Waterford and Rowland Hall faced off.

Waterford's Sean Keough had the first goal of the game in the 13th minute.

Rowland Hall did not get on the board until the 74th minute, when Enzo Weiner's shot just barely made it over the goal line. That shot sent the match into overtime.

It was a header from Jesse Sindelar that clinched Waterford's fifth state championship title. Sindelar said he was hoping for the ball in the back post.

"That's my spot in that back post, I love it when it comes there and I've gotten one or two goals this season on that,” he said. “So I was hoping if it comes there, I get it. So, it came right to me, I didn't even think about it, I just hit it right in.”

"There is never any animosity in our team, everyone gets along, everybody plays together, they play for each other and it paid off today in a big way," Waterford Head Coach George Shirley said.

The 4A and 5A title games will take place May 22.