Sandy • The Morgan Trojans are one step away from bringing home their first girls’ soccer state title.
Their 1-0 victory over Manti in Friday’s Class 3A state semifinals sends the Trojans to Saturday’s state championship game at Rio Tinto Stadium.
“We never thought we would get this far, but we were hoping and praying that we would,” Morgan forward Logan Duran said.
It was a defensive battle for the majority of the game. The defensive back lines stood strong, challenging every pass and opposing player that came toward the goal. Both teams looked to counter, but nothing would come from it.
PLAYER OF THE GAME <br>Morgan’s Logan Duran punched her team’s ticket to the Class 3A state championship game in the 54th minute with a calmly placed shot just inside the far post. Duran also helped her team keep possession for the majority of the game and applied pressure throughout.
Morgan got a break in the 54th minute. The Manti defense tried to clear the ball but misplayed it. Duran quickly jumped on the ball and drilled a shot inside the far post for the game’s lone goal.
The Trojans dominated possession after the goal and kept the Manti offense from gaining any momentum.
“We watched some of their film and figured out how they played,” Duran said. “All we have been doing the past week, all we have been working on is defense. We would rather them not score any goals than us score some.”
The Trojans struck again when Allison Flitton found herself on a breakaway, but the Manti goalkeeper met her at the top of the box and denied Flitton’s shot.
The Trojans will play for the state title at 3 p.m. Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium, which seemed like an eternity for the Morgan players.
“We’ve been doing a lot of team activities together, whether it’s watching movies or playing games just to get our minds off the game, so our nerves don’t ease us alive,” Duran said about the anxiety of the postseason.