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SANDY — It was only a matter of time for Morgan's girls soccer team.
The Trojans poured on the pressure in the first half of the Class 3A state title match against defending champion Manti, holding the bulk of possession in their attacking third and only allowing the Templars to cross midfield twice.
With 58 seconds on the clock, the pressure finally exploded with a whistle and two words: penalty kick.
Capri Jones converted the first-half penalty to end the first half, and the Trojans toppled the Templars 3-1 Monday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
"We all knew it was coming; we just had to stay patient with ourselves and not get down," said Jones, a senior. "That's all we needed, and then it was there."
Jones' younger sister Jayda and Brooklyn Peterson also scored for Morgan (17-2), which won their first title since securing back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018.
"Every substitute, we kept saying it: just be patient, be patient," Morgan coach Bryan Searle said. "The time would happen."
Manti scarcely crossed midfield in the opening half hour as Morgan dominated possession. But the Trojans only put four shots up in the first half, and gave up a yellow card-inducing free kick to the Templars in the 39th minute that skewed just wide of the post.
All that pressure paid off when the Trojans earned a penalty kick in the 40th minute. Capri Jones stepped to the spot with 58 seconds remaining, and slammed any pent up frustration she may have had at the scoreline into the back of the net for a 1-0 halftime edge.
"I was really nervous that I was going to mess it up," Jones said. "But we've practiced them a lot, I knew my spot, and just did my routine."
Manti had a chance at an equalizer in the 55th minute, but Ally Squire's one-on-one chance with the keeper was pushed wide.
Just two minutes later, Jayda Jones doubled the advantage for Morgan, dribbling between two defenders and lifting a ball inside the far post in the 57th minute.
Allie Bridges pulled one back for Manti, converting a 68th-minute penalty kick to pull the Templars within 2-1. But that was as close as Manti would get.
Peterson added a goal in the 70th minute, scoring with her left boot to give the Trojans their third title in school history.
Morgan didn't just beat Manti a year after losing in the 3A state semifinals. They also outlasted the rest of 3A — and a global pandemic.
"We were all iffy (if we would get a season)," Jones said. "But we kept playing as if we were going to get here, and we did. We pulled through."
Rowland Hall 3, RSL Academy 2
Rowland Hall's girls soccer team hasn't had to overcome many deficits during the 2020 fall season.
Really, the Winged Lions haven't faced many during their run of three-straight state titles.
They had to work against one Monday, though.
Summer Connery scored the go-ahead goal in the 68th minute, and Kaitlyn Bates added what proved to be the match-winner a few moments later as Rowland Hall held off RSL Academy 3-2 in the Class 2A state championship at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Paige Connery also scored for the Winged Lions (13-2), who won their fourth-straight state title and sixth overall against the third-year Griffins — who have already made back-to-back title match appearances against their 2A North rivals.
"We worked so hard to get where we are," Bates said. "We all worked together to get this win, and it's incredible."
RSL Academy (8-5), the public charter school that is physically attached but philosophically unaffiliated with the Major League Soccer club's developmental academy in Herriman, lost by the same margin to Rowland Hall in the regular season.
But unlike in 2A North play, which was tied 1-1 at halftime, the Winged Lions trailed at the break — not something they've done much of all year in winning every game against 2A competition.
"I believe that was the first time we've been down 1-0 at halftime," first-year Rowland Hall coach Collette Smith said. "So there was a little frustration, but I think it was good for the girls. They came together really well after that."
Taija Anderson gave the Griffins the early advantage, though. The sophomore striker watched as a shot from distance caromed off the undersize of the crossbar, but reacted well to slam rebound into the right corner from the edge of the six-yard box in the 12th minute for the 1-0 lead.
RSL held a 7-6 shots advantage in the first half over the Winged Lions, but clung to the one-goal lead on Anderson's well-placed rebound.
Still, freshman Paige Connery equalized just two minutes into the second half, collecting a rebound after RSL Academy had just saved a challenging shot with a one-on-one save in the 42nd minute. Older sister Summer Connery added the go-ahead goal — the junior striker's 25th of the year — from distance in the 68th minute.
Fitting that the two combined to rally the Lions.
"They're fantastic players, and great leaders on our team," Smith said of the siblings. "Summer really filled in some spots very well."
Bates finished off the scoring with a shot from the edge of the area that slipped past the defense in the 70th minute.
"It was a really weird shot; the sun was in my eye," Bates said of her goal. "I was looking for the cross, but it happened to go up and win — and it was a goal."
Riley Massey pulled one back for the Griffins in the 76th minute, setting up RSL Academy's last-gasp search for an equalizer to test Rowland Hall's intestinal fortitude.
"What kept us going was the idea of holding that trophy like we just did," Bates said. "It's so important to us to get that four-peat, and we got it today. We had that in mind at all times."
