Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SANDY — Green Canyon made its first trip to the 4A state soccer championship in the six-year school's history more than memorable.
The Wolves are headed back to Cache Valley with a trophy.
Colby Knight scored the only goal of the match midway through the second half, goalkeeper Ryan Scott made it stand up, and Green Canyon won its first state championship with a 1-0 win over region rival Mountain Crest Friday evening at America First Field.
The win gives Green Canyon (13-6) an improbable finish after finishing just third in Region 11 and the No. 5 seed in a state tournament that has been won by a school from St. George, Ridgeline or Sky View since 2015.
Now it belongs to the Wolves, who had never advanced past the quarterfinals in the program's short history prior to this week and was recently known more for lacrosse and tennis titles than soccer.
"We really wanted this one," said Green Canyon senior Brayden Jensen, who assisted on the game-winning score. "We came out hard, had a great first win, and just rode the high all the way through.
"When we got here, we said we weren't coming away crying. Or at least, not crying sad."
Fisher Arroyo nearly gave the Wolves a lead in the 24th minute, but his shot from the right flank sailed just off the right corner. Kael Cragun had a take in the 32nd minute, but it likewise flew over the top of Mountain Crest's goal.
The Mustangs (11-8) cleared a loose ball off the goal line with five minutes left in the half. That kept a significantly more-dangerous Green Canyon side scoreless for the first half.
The Wolves finally broke through in the 55th minute, when Jensen launched a counter attack on the left wing before slotting a ball through to Knight, who tapped it in for the opening goal and the 1-0 advantage.
"I've been working for this my entire life. And every year, we choke in the first round of state ro the second," Jensen said. "As a senior, to make it this far and to assist the winning goal, I don't think I've ever felt anything this good in my entire life."
From the moment Jensen launched the counter attack to the tap-in that came off Knight's foot, Green Canyon coach Kirt Sadler refused to doubt — previous missed chances aside.
"Brayden's been a big part of our team the whole season," Sadler said. "We were able to get him the ball he loves, and Colby is a fantastic finisher when you get him on a ball. I could see it coming, and we were trying to break the whole game.
"When I saw Colby making the run, I knew that was going in. I didn't know why, but I knew it was going in."
The rest was up to a defense anchored by senior Alan Cordova and a Green Canyon defense that held its opponents scoreless in the playoffs after finishing just 6-4 in Region 11 that included a home-and-home split with Mountain Crest.
But both teams took advantage of early upsets in the bracket, including top-seeded Layton Christian's loss to Dixie and the Mustangs' win over second-seeded Crimson Cliffs in Thursday's semifinals.
"We showed that our region is really hard," Sadler said. "We play at a high level, and it's physical.
"It's sad that someone had to lose today. But I felt like we were the better team today, and we earned it."
