High school boys soccer: Sophomore goalkeeper Carson Wilde fills in, helps lift Skyline to 5A second-round win over Alta

Trevor Jensen and Cache Zacharopoulos scored in Skyline’s 2-1 win over Alta in a second-round game of the 5A tournament

Carson Wilde was sitting on the Skyline bench when the most exciting play of the Eagles’ 5A boys soccer playoff game occurred Tuesday afternoon.

He wasn’t certain what had happened when he heard the noise from the crowd and saw Skyline’s starting goalie, Ben Jensen, rolling on the ground, clearly in pain. Jensen had just batted away an Alta shot but broke his arm in the process. A minute later, Wilde, a sophomore, was inserted in front of the net in his team’s biggest game so far this season.

However, Wilde’s aggressive demeanor paid off. He pitched a shutout and his teammates, Trevor Jensen and Cache Zacharopoulos, scored to lift Skyline to a 2-1 win over the Hawks in a second-round game of the 6A tournament.

“We certainly made it dramatic,” said Skyline coach Shawn Kennedy. “We made a great effort, and Carson was able to get to a lot of balls (shots) because of his aggressiveness.”

With the win, the 10^th-seeded Eagles reached the quarterfinals and will play No. 2 seed Mountain Ridge Friday. There, Kennedy said Wilde will likely face an even tougher challenge, but the winner of the game will advance to every team’s goal: Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.

Playing just a few miles away from Rio Tinto on Alta’s home field, the outcome of this match looked to initially be going the Hawks’ way. The Hawks had won their last three home games and senior Chase Jordan got the crowd excited with his seventh goal of the season. Alta appeared to have the game’s momentum, constantly pressuring Skyline’s goal, which led to Jensen’s injury and a momentum switch, too.

“We are so evenly matched,” said Alta coach Mackenzie Hyer. “He (Wilde) came up big and got some great saves.”

“We certainly made it dramatic. We made a great effort, and Carson (Wilde) was able to get to a lot of balls (shots) because of his aggressiveness.” — Skyline coach Shawn Kennedy

Kennedy said even though Wilde is a sophomore, he was familiar with Wilde’s play, and he had been successful in shootout wins over Brighton and East earlier this season.

Helped by a warm breeze from the north, Alta kept up its offensive pressure, but there were at least occasions when the ball appeared loose in the front of the net, then Wilde broke through a crowd of players to grab the ball.

“Alta just shelled us but Carson was just a little more aggressive,” Kennedy said. “It’s like I tell the kids, if there’s injuries, it has to be ‘next man up.’”

Alta finished its season with an 11-6 record after taking second place in Region 7. Skyline improved to 11-5.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/33Tm8DN