OGDEN -- It was the kind of start that Ogden Tigers' coach Sterling Castle wanted -- up 2-0 after just 25 minutes of play and well in control of the match.
It was also the kind of finish that Castle wanted to avoid like the plague. That fast 2-0 start failed to hold up as Box Elder came into town undefeated and left town in the same fashion. The Bees tallied three second half goals to defeat the Tigers 3-2 Tuesday afternoon in the Region 5 opener for both teams.
"I thought that we started the game very well," Castle said. "We had a couple of wonderful goals in the first half and controlled the bulk of play there for a while. But with that comes the game of soccer and they really put some some pressure on us in the second half and we didn't handle it well."
Ogden was the first team to get on the board as freshman Lindsey Bray took a beautiful pass from Cassie Hanson and maneuvered around the Box Elder goalie, only to be hauled down for a penalty kick. Sophomore Avery Calton converted the penalty kick in the 23rd minute for a 1-0 lead.
That lead increased to 2-0 just two minutes later when Hanson found her way through the defense and slot one home for the first half lead.
A couple of adjustments at halftime was all that Box Elder coach Brooke Lambert needed to make, putting more pressure on the Ogden goal.
"We came out and wanted to really put the pressure on their keeper and really put pressure on the entire team," Lambert said. "The girls worked really hard to get to this point and we knew that if we got one, we could come from behind."
That start culminated with a goal in the 52nd minute as Brittney Caldwell hammered one from just outside the box that found its way over the goalie and under the bar to pull within one at 2-1. Just minutes later, Lana Willard tied the score with an assist from Caldwell.
Cortnee Sanchez sealed the victory just minutes from full time with a shot that tipped off of Caldwell and found the back of the net, which caused the Bees' bench to erupt.
Box Elder freshman goalie McKayla Sanchez, who subbed in for injured starter Julie Cook, made four great saves in the final few minutes that kept the Tigers from equalizing in the match.
Region 1
* NORTHRIDGE 3, ROY 1: At Roy, all the scoring came in the second half, to the Knights' advantage. Northridge sophomores Ricci Adams, Annabelle Schwab and Sarah Thompson each notched a goal and Madison Wood had two assists.
The Royals had two clear chances in the first half, but failed to capitalize on an empty net and a penalty kick and ended up falling to the Knights in the second half. Freshman Taryn Davis scored the lone goal for the Royals.
* VIEWMONT 2, WEBER 1: At Bountiful, the Warriors tried to rally in the second half after giving up goals on either side of the half when Brooke Saxton pulled one back in the 77th minute on a wonderful strike, but they ran out of time, in falling to the Vikings in region action.
"I thought that we played well in spots and in certain minutes," Weber coach Sheena Bailey said. "But we just can't seem to get things going in the right direction after such a wonderful start. We aren't playing bad, but we need to make some adjustments in order to keep up in this region."
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