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SANDY — Anna Pickering’s junior season for the Maple Mountain girls soccer team was quite the ride.
A team-high 14 goals and the Golden Eagles’ first trip to the Class 5A state championship Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium was already a win for the blond-haired scoring standout.
There was only one more thing to do: win the whole thing.
Pickering scored the Golden Eagles’ lone goal in regulation, then opened the penalty shootout with a conversion to help Maple Mountain clinch its first state championship in school history with a 5-4 shootout victory Friday over Timpanogos.
“I knew we were going to make history,” said Pickering, who led Maple Mountain with 15 goals in 2017. “It’s insane. It doesn’t even feel real.”
The shootout was the eighth extra-time game of the season for Maple Mountain (10-2-5), which also defeated Timpview via shootout in Tuesday’s semifinals.
“We just knew,” Maple Mountain coach Jeff Lewis said. “We knew they had heart, and they worked. … I think it was very fitting.”
The Timberwolves (13-2-3) jumped out to the early advantage. But despite hoisting a 5-3 shots margin, including two shots on goal, the teams remained scoreless through 40 minutes.
Just 13 minutes into the second half, Pickering broke the deadlock. The Golden Eagles’ leading scorer sprang to a loose ball that pinged around the box and slotted home her 15th goal of the season to give Maple Mountain (10-2-5) a 1-0 advantage.
Shootout: @MapleMtnSports ⚽️ ⚽️ ❌ ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️@TimpGirlsSoccer ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️ ❌ ⚽️ ❌.
— Sean Walker (@DSeanKSL) October 21, 2017
🏆🦅 pic.twitter.com/SqvW9lzdps
“It came through, I cut back into the defender and just shot it through,” Pickering said after kissing the UHSAA trophy. “When it went in, it was the best feeling ever. I just had to put one in.”
But the lead didn’t last long — just five minutes, in fact.
Timpanogos’ own leading scorer Tess Donaldson pulled one back with a rip from the edge of the 18-yard box in the 58th minute to equalize at 1-1.
Still, the Eagles didn’t panic.
“Once they scored, you could see girls got back to our game,” Lewis said. “We made a couple of mistakes on our end, and kudos to (Timpanogos); they jumped on it right away.
“Our ability to play our game held us in through overtime and double overtime, and that belief was huge.”
Once the game hit the end of regulation, though, the Golden Eagles exuded confidence. Maple Mountain was playing in its eighth overtime game of the season, including a penalty-kick shootout Tuesday.
“We’ve had a ton of overtimes, so we’re kind of used to it,” Pickering said. “You just have to remain calm. We knew we had the talent to do it, and we went to PKs last game. We were confident.”
Pickering opened the shootout with a conversion from the spot, and Chloe Martin, Tennessee Schellenberg and Gracie Knutzen each added a penalty. But Timpanogos countered with penalties by Donaldson, Shaylie Weenig, Samantha Brady and Emma Fry to force sudden death in its search for a first state championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2013-14.
But Brynlie Ivie converted the Eagles’ sixth attempt, and goalkeeper Kayla Thompson — much like she did Tuesday — finished the job to send Maple Mountain back to Utah County with a championship.
“We’ve been working every day for today, and today was that tomorrow,” said Thompson, who has committed to Gonzaga. “There’s no better way to end it than winning the state title. Now I can’t wait for Gonzaga.”
