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Ogden's Evalyn Farka, 12, and West Field's Ashtynn Mortensen, 33, pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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Ogden's Sienna Ulrich pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest with Ogden at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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West Field's Kaylee Craythorne pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest with Ogden at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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Ogden's Alondra Ayala, 19, and West Field's Marley Cloward, 32, pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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West Field's Marissa Hatch pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest with Ogden at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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Ogden's Madison Beus, 22, and West Field's Kambry Nelson, 20, pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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Ogden's Gwenyth Aardema, 8, and West Field's Hallie Vance, 10, pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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West Field's Marissa Hatch pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest with Ogden at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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Ogden's Estella Gonzalez pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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West Field's Addison Sederholm, 7, Gwenyth Aardema, 8, pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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West Field's Hallie Vance pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest with Ogden at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

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West Field's Sadie Wiseman pictured during a nonregion girls soccer contest with Ogden at West Field High School on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner).

BRIAN WOLFER, Standard-Examiner

❮ ❯

TAYLOR – The thermostat read 101 degrees Fahrenheit as West Field girls soccer returned to the pitch this weekend to host defending 3A champ Ogden, and things have been boiling for a while leading up to a 2-0 Longhorn shutout on Friday.

Yes, it’s August, and the sun is behaving as such, but West Field built much of its preseason regimen around the heat. That shined through on Friday when Cade Miller’s squad produced its first win over the neighboring Tigers in school history.

Ogden (1-1) has claimed the last two meetings since West Field (1-1) first opened its doors three years ago. The Longhorns won just nine matches in that first fall, and followed it up with the program’s first winning season at 12-7 in 2025.

Sweating it out

A scoreless start saw each side leave the pitch with unsuccessful chances.

A whistle brought West Field midfielder Ashtynn Mortensen’s footrace with two defenders to an abrupt end just short of the goal; Ogden forward and Baylor commit Elle Weston beamed a 20-yarder off the crossbar.

Nine minutes into the second half, though, midfielder Marley Cloward keyed the upfield pass to hr senior forward, Julia Robbins, juking two defenders before firing the match’s first goal past Ogden’s Whitney Fife.

It was a connection, Cloward said, that had evaded West Field just a few days earlier in a 2-1 home loss to Davis.

“I think it’s just so good that we’re there on our feet and ready to crash,” Cloward said.

“We did so well at our runs and opening up and being connected as a team,” Cloward said. “I feel like against Davis, it was just off as we were figuring things out, but today we were just on.”

Cloward’s second “assist,” though, wasn’t exactly orthodox.

In a crowded box, Cloward fired another shot on goal and off the hands of Fife, unable to secure the ball and falling prey to a second West Field goal, this one courtesy of junior midfielder Kate Marriott with 14 minutes left.

“I think it’s just so good that we’re there on our feet and ready to crash,” Cloward said.

Both goals won the praise of Miller, who is intent on holding practices in the heat for this very test against the likes of an Ogden or Davis

“We practice here every day in top-notch heat,” Cloward said. “(Miller) does a really good job conditioning us and making sure we’re prepared.”

It’s August soccer, Miller says, and he’s scheduling like it. West Field’s next three matches include Farmington on the road, Viewmont at home and at Springville.

“Those are just pure-effort goals,” Miller said. “The girls have been working 40-yard sprints, and they’re just calm and collected.”

He continued:

“I love what these girls are doing – they’re buying in,” Miller said. “We had great aspirations last year, and the season ended a little too early. We’re going to take the lessons learned from last year, and I have an incredible group of seniors and juniors and some young girls, so I’m excited for the many years to come.”

West Field travels to Farmington on Monday, Aug. 10.

Ogden records first loss in 354 days

The Tigers shined bright last fall, and multiple returners from that title team bolster the roster for the season ahead. Friday, though, put that transition to the test in a warm road match resulting in Ogden’s first loss in nearly a year.

Fife, a sophomore, is back in goal after recording 107 total saves through 19 appearances as a freshman, and it’s a new day as Ogden continues locking in its back line with seniors Ari Jorgenson, Evalyn Farka and Gracelyn Litz.

“We talked about that at halftime – our defensive line becoming louder,” King said. “Now, it’s like who’s going to step up? Practicing getting (Fife) louder, we’ve been working on it, so I think our communication could get better, but I feel that in the heat of the moment they’re making sure that somebody’s covering the ball.”

Last year’s leading scorer, Elle Weston, is back after snapping the single-season goal record with 42 in her junior campaign. She’s paired with junior Alonda Ayala and sophomore Gwenith Aardema up top, which lends Ogden some power that simply didn’t find the net on Friday afternoon.

“It felt like in the beginning we were playing how they wanted us to play,” King said. “We settled in, but I mean they capitalized on good opportunities. That second goal, like bouncing around the box, that happens, and they capitalized. We had a lot of opportunities, some shots on goal, and I think there were probably a lot of moments where we should have shot quicker.”

Rinse and repeat, King is confident this year’s squad can grow from match to match, because she’s already seeing the notebook reach the pitch when it comes to formations and what packages are giving the Tigers the best chance at a run.

“We worked on that Wednesday in practice, and I definitely feel like our shape is a lot better today,” King said. “Not just defensively but offensively, when we had the ball, I think we did a lot better job of moving the ball around, so I can definitely see what we worked on in practice make a difference today.”

Ogden returns home on Tuesday, Aug. 11, to host Green Canyon.

Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.