Girls soccer: ‘Plays in my head’ guide Weber forward Lily Wagner’s shining start
Warriors sophomore stars in road-opener victory at Clearfield
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- Weber celebrates a goal during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Lily Wagner pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Payton Reid pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Teagan Bragger, left, and Clearfield’s Ariana Johnson, right, pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Lyla Leonhardt pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Hadley White, right, plays the ball to Zoee Kallias, left, during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Lyla Leonhardt pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Hadley White, left, and Clearfield’s Elliot Hannan, right, battle it out during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Elliot Hannan pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Carley Gardenhour, front, and Clearfield’s Payton Reid, back, pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Emery Johnson pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Lyla Christensen pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Carley Gardenhour pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber celebrates a goal during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber celebrates a goal during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Preslee Rodriguez pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Mandy Landman pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Victra Reid, left, plays the ball off her head, away from Weber’s McKinley Brown during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Cahtaya Christensen pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Ivee Berdinner pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber’s Charlotte Osborn pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield’s Payton Reid pictured during a non-region girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield. (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Clearfield huddles up before a girls soccer contest against Weber on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, at Clearfield High School in Clearfield (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
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- Weber and Clearfield girls soccer captains gather at midfield before a non-region contest at Clearfield High School on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026 at Clearfield High School in Clearfield (TRE ASAY, Special to the Standard-Examiner).
CLEARFIELD — They say first impressions are everything and, if you get stuck, you may ask Weber High sophomore Lily Wagner for a tip or two.
The short, speedy forward delivered two second-half goals off the hands of Clearfield senior goalkeeper Mia Nichol en route to a 3-0 victory, giving Weber a win as the high school girls soccer season opened Monday night.
Returning from a scoreless first half, Wagner delivered her first career varsity goal with 25 minutes to play when teammate Ella Clegg’s shot on goal bounced off Nichol’s gloves and into a prime scoring opportunity.
Wagner, spinning a near-full 360 degrees, rebounded her own shot minutes later to put a 2-0 grip on the Falcons (0-1).
Weber (1-0) carried on to victory thanks in part to a third goal by sophomore Ari Kashanipour and a combined shutout for junior Preslee Rodriguez and sophomore Charlotte Osborn. Those are the two in contention for the starting goalkeeper job, coach Heather Carter said.
“They’ll keep challenging each other and whoever steps up the most will end up in that spot,” Carter said.
It’s all upstairs
Reactionary soccer is Wagner’s preferred flavor of soccer.
Wagner registered the first goals of her prep career on Monday, but she technically lettered as a freshman last season on a roster featuring Pacific signee Sadie Fletcher, who led the 2025-26 campaign with 11 goals.
Fundamentals included, Wagner approaches one-on-one battles as they come, and isn’t necessarily ruling out anything when it comes to beating the girl in front of her. It doesn’t always work, but she’s sharpening her skills.
Monday saw two of those battles result in scoring sequences.
“I have plays in my head,” Wagner said. “Sometimes, it’ll come to me, and I’ll step into it. It’s something I’ve worked on with a personal trainer. … I go to (Real Salt Lake) games a lot, and I watch all the players, and they kind of (improvise) a lot.”
Weber is a young team once again and, with just six seniors in the locker room, it’s a competitive atmosphere. Weber, like Clearfield, is looking for another winning season after finishing 10-9 overall and third in Region 1 last year.
“I spent nights in my room wondering if I should quit, and I just kept at it and it paid off, working extra time,” Wagner said.
In two short weeks, Wagner is catching the attention of the Weber staff and landed crucial minutes in Monday’s opener — minutes she didn’t waste.
“She’s just composed,” Carter said of Wagner. “She’s got a lot of skill with the ball on her foot, and she’s got speed, and she just stays very composed, so it works out.”
Chances aplenty but defense dooms Clearfield
Kam Nordfors led Clearfield to a winning season with a 10-8 overall finish in his first run as head coach, and he’s intent on keeping the bar high this go-round despite Monday’s result.
The Falcons lose much of their production to graduates Kamryn Weaver (16 goals) and Tatum Thomas (12 goals), but a young roster has Nordfors excited about the year ahead. Some of those potential playmakers emerged across both halves of Monday’s match.
Freshmen Ariana Johnson and Elliot Hannan settled in early, Nordfors said.
“It’s all about mindset, letting things go and moving on,” Nordfors said. “Talent-wise, skill-wise, we can play with the best. It’s just having that mindset that we can do it.”
Senior Harlie Miller made a key stop against Weber senior Carley Gardenhour in the final minutes of a scoreless first half and, despite minimal chances through the first 40 minutes, Clearfield returned to the match the aggressor.
Junior Kaylyn Reid bombed Osborn, Weber’s second-half goalkeeper, with a shot on goal nine minutes into the second half. She’d block Osborn’s clearing attempt a few moments later, and senior teammate Lyla Christensen’s follow-up shot sailed wide right.
Those opportunities are creative, but it’s worth little when you don’t score. Nordfors knows that, and Clearfield’s coach is confident he’ll have a squad capable of finishing those plays in the near future.
“It’s frustrating as a coach and, at the same time, we moved the ball well through the third. Created chances, just not on frame,” Nordfors said.
Luckily for Clearfield, the season’s incredibly young, and another chance at hitting the frame arrives Friday in a home bout with Syracuse. Weber, conversely, looks to compete with the defending 3A champion Ogden on Friday in Pleasant View.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
