The No. 13 Snow College men's soccer team finished as the runners-up in the Region 18 Tournament last weekend in Taylorsville.. They defeated Utah State University Eastern 4-1 in the semi-final to advance to take on No. 20 Salt Lake Community College in the championship, where they fell 1-0.
The Badgers finished their season with an overall record of 14-5 and an 11-3 conference record, their best finish in conference play in program history.
The Badgers opened the game on their back foot against USUE as the Eagles took the first three shots and scored the first goal in the 14th minute. The Badgers were able to reinstate the defense as they kept USUE away on two more following shot attempts.
The Badgers would respond with their first shot in the 36th minute as
Kade Davis was able to connect with
Max Mayer, who powered a shot past the keeper. Mayer stayed hot as he scored again right before the half in the 45th minute, this time with an assist from
Isaac Stanley to put the Badgers up 2-1.
The Badgers started the second half strong as they punched in two goals within the first 10 minutes of the half. The first came in the 51st as
Max Palmer was able to create a shot off a Stanley assist to score.
The Badgers' final goal came right after in the 55th minute as Davis was able to beat the keeper off a penalty kick inside the 18-yard box. The Badgers would take three more shots and hold the Eagles to one shot in the second half as they closed the game 4-1.
The Badgers finished with 11 shots, seven of which were on net.
Mathias Christensen finished the game with three saves.
After defeating USUE, the Badgers turned their attention to No. 20 SLCC in the Region 18 Championship game.
The game started as a defensive battle, as both sides kept the other's shots to a minimum. The Badgers had three chances on the net but couldn't connect on any of them, and the story was the same for the Bruins. Both teams tallied two saves in the first half, and the score was tied at 0 at the half.
The second half opened with more offense, but both defenses held strong for the first 15 minutes. The Bruins were able to break the tie in the 76th minute to take a pivotal 1-0 lead.
The Badgers attempted to respond as they took five corner kicks in the remaining minutes of the half, which led to two shots, but neither made their way into the SLCC net. The Badgers would ultimately suffer the 1-0 loss.
Both the Badgers and Bruins took eight shots, with Snow College having four on net to SLCC's five. Both teams recorded four saves, and the Badgers took nine corners to the Bruins' five.
The Badgers' season has come to a close as they wait to see if they earn an at-large bid to the NJCAA National Tournament. For additional information, visit snowbadgers.com.
