Rowland Hall redeems last year's upset with win over St. Joseph's in 2A title game

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HERRIMAN — Rowland Hall scored early and then responded to a St. Joseph's equalizer in the second half to secure the 2A girls soccer state championship Saturday at Zions Bank Stadium.

"It's huge," head coach Colette Smith said of the win. "A lot of the seniors and juniors and sophomores that were here last year, when we kind of got upset, I guess you could say, in the state finals last year, they knew that this is where they wanted to be this year."

The Winged Lions lost to Waterford last year but left everything out on the field this year to complete the redemption arc.

Rowland Hall is your 3A state champion with a 2-1 win over St. Joseph's pic.twitter.com/XOqKtX6ZZc
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) October 22, 2022

Beatrix Wall gave Rowland Hall the lead in the 16th minute, and the Winged Lions dominated possession and attacking chances for the majority of the first half, entering halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Alexandra Walker scored the equalizer for St. Joseph's in the 61st minute on a direct free kick from 40 yards out, and Rowland Hall responded immediately after, bringing the ball up the field and getting it to Zakrie Smith for the game-winning goal.

"I think the girls know that we have to come out and fight all the time," Smith said. "This team has very few of them that actually play club soccer. They come from various backgrounds: skiing, basketball — a lot of them don't play soccer. So they know that their heart is really what comes out and plays itself."