The following is sponsored by Utah Youth Soccer Association.
Kickoff at 5:30 pm at Palisade Park Orem UT
The 17U Girls Premier 2 match between was a highly entertaining albeit cold affair. With the nasty weather that persisted all week it felt great to even be able to get the match in at all. The sky opened up and while not sunny it wasn’t raining either and that is great news for Northern Peaks as they won 3-1 over Celtic FC.
Northern Peaks started out on fire controlling the ball and dominating in possession, but it was Celtic with the first real scoring opportunity as they countered fast and hard with the final ball just escaping them. This became the theme of the first half, Northern Peaks kept pushing forward while Celtic looked most dangerous on the counter.
The other major theme of the first half was Celtic goalkeeper Chelsea Peterson. She stood on her head for the Celtic defense coming up with big stop after big stop as Northern Peaks peppered her goal. She was a force for Celtic, setting up their defense, coming out hard to stop breakways, and getting aerial to bat away crosses.
In a different turn of events a Celtic turnover turned into a counter opportunity for Northern Peaks and a terrific pass by #9 Olivia Shirley met #2 Jaycie Greene who rounded the aforementioned Peterson and slotted it home just past the last ditch effort by the Celtic defense.
Celtic looked to be collapsing under the attacking pressure of the Northern Peaks attack as they rarely crossed midfield for good portions of the half. Halftime then came as a huge relief for them and a chance to regroup. They came out playing much better and tested the Northern Peaks goal repeatedly.
It took a spectacular run from Northern Peaks #17 Sydny Hull to break open the Celtic defense and a perfectly placed cross found Jaycie Greene for her second of the night. Celtic continued to push to try and make it a game but the Northern Peaks attack was too much and a third Northern Peaks goal soon followed.
A great pass into the center by Northern Peaks #20 Rachel Saxey was met by #50 Aspen Hofhein who managed to just beat the onrushing Chelsea Peterson to the ball, poke it up and around her before slamming the ball into the back of the net.
Celtic continued to push and looked close to scoring multiple times only to be denied by the Northern Peaks keeper Jenna Smith. Celtic managed to prevent the clean sheet with a late goal, but it was too little too late and Northern Peaks left victorious.
Utah Youth Soccer reaches over 50,000 players across Utah, UYSA is the only soccer organization in Utah that offers a diverse range of services and innovative programs to meet the needs of a membership with varied abilities, backgrounds, and financial means. UYSA is sanctions by the U.S. Soccer Federation and US Youth Soccer to be the governing body of soccer in Utah. UYSA is also recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee as the governing body for youth soccer in our state. For more information please visit us at www.utahyouthsoccer.net or call us at 801.307.5150.
