Girls soccer: Bonneville freshmen stand tall in shootout victory over Roy
-
- Bonneville goalkeeper Lily Atkinson makes a save against Roy on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Bonneville’s Berkley Stein (7) lines up a kick in front of Roy’s Hannah Fugate on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Roy’s Hannah Fugate (4) tries to corral the ball as Bonneville’s Zia Norton defends on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Bonneville’s Maggie Anderson, right, moves the ball as Roy’s Taylor Delgado looks on in a match Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Roy goalkeeper Kenlin Baddley, left, tries to ward off Bonneville’s Natilee Cherry (6) as Roy’s Lydia Robbins, right, gets in the mix on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Bonneville’s Natilee Cherry pursues the ball against Roy on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Bonneville’s Chloe McBride strikes the ball against Roy on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Roy’s Hannah Fugate (4) and Bonneville’s Berkley Stein, right, battle for the ball on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Roy goalkeeper Kenlin Baddley scoops up the ball against Bonneville on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Roy’s Macy Reed tries to head the ball against Bonneville on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
-
- Bonneville’s Camila Arreguin (10) controls the ball as Roy’s Remy Erickson (32) pursues on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Washington Terrace.
WASHINGTON TERRACE — When most of the Bonneville High girls soccer team left last spring via the graduation portal, the Lakers had to retool with a bunch of new recruits for this season.
Thirteen players on this year’s varsity roster are freshmen and three of them — Natilee Cherry, Berkley Stein and Lily Atkinson — played pivotal roles in Bonneville’s penalty kick shootout victory over Roy on Thursday afternoon.
Tied 2-2 after regulation and two overtime periods, the Region 5 match came down to penalty kicks and the Lakers prevailed 4-3.
Sienna Bodily, Avena Garcia and Remy Erickson made kicks for the Royals. Those were countered by Zia Norton, Camila Arreguin and Lily Robertson on the Laker side of the ledger.
After a Roy miss, Cherry volunteered to kick for the Lakers and made the game-winner.
“I just shot it and hoped for the best. She (Laker coach Makensie Price) started counting us off and I raised my hand; she picked me for number five,” Cherry said. “I kind of look where the goalie is positioned and choose my side off of that. I’ve taken a lot of PKs in my life … thought I could do it.”
If that kind of innocence of youth downplayed the gravity of the situation, 14-year-old freshman Bonneville goalkeeper Atkinson also showed maturity beyond her years.
Atkinson drew a yellow card — somewhat unusual for a goalie — early in the game, and although Roy scored first on a kick by Bodily that bounced over Atkinson’s head and into the net in the seventh minute, she took it all in stride.
“The yellow card, I wasn’t really affected by it. I just kept playing my game. I’m here to do my job and that’s the mindset I have,” Atkinson said. “I came out, read the ball and she just touched it right by me and we collided. Not much I could have done.”
It didn’t take Bonneville (3-3, 2-2 Region 5) long to get even, as freshman Stein stepped into a long free kick just 51 seconds later to knot it at 1-1.
Breaking the freshman theme, senior Chloe McBride scored on a penalty kick in the 34th minute to give the Lakers a 2-1 lead at the half.
That looked like it could have done the trick for Bonneville, but Roy sophomore Eva Reed sent the contest to overtime by knocking home a rebound shot in the 76th minute.
“I challenged the girls at halftime to respond to being down and make a comeback,” Roy coach Alyssa Foutz said. “We were fighting for it all half long and I was hoping that momentum would propel us to get that third goal.”
However, in the penalty kick phase, the pressure caught up with both teams, as most of the misses were either high or wide.
Even so, Atkinson leaned on her training, honed even at such a young age.
“It’s not a guessing game now,” Atkinson said. “Maybe at 5 or 6 years old, it’s a guessing game, but you just gotta do your job; read their hips and go for it.”
After a slow start to the season, Roy (2-4, 2-2) had won two straight and had several point-blank shots on goal in the first overtime that either the 5-inch white pipe or Atkinson turned away.
“We had lots of really good chances in that first overtime; just couldn’t find the back of the net. We had five shots in one little moment there in the box and couldn’t finish it, Foutz said. “But that’s OK. We’re still growing into who we are. The girls are getting great experience. I’m super proud of the fight they showed today.”
