The Grantsville boys soccer team took a bit to get its offense going Friday afternoon, but the Cowboys got goals when they needed them to pull away for a 3-1 victory against Tooele in a Region 11 match in Grantsville.
Neither team scored in the opening half, but the Cowboys (4-1, 2-0 Region 11) grabbed the lead just eight minutes into the second half as the Buffaloes (4-4, 0-1) couldn’t find a way to corral a loose ball inside the 18-yard box. Grantsville senior forward Gavin Holt finally gained control and ripped a shot past Tooele goalkeeper Jaren Wilson to put the Cowboys in front.
“Instead of playing [the ball] long into space, we decided to control it a little more,” Cowboys coach Travis Lowry said. “This was a total team effort. I’m very pleased.”
The Cowboys then caught a bit of a break just four minutes later. A high, arcing ball came into the 18-yard box and Wilson came out of his net in an attempt to snag the ball before Grantsville could get to it. However, Wilson mistimed his jump and the ball sailed over his hands, landing at the feet of Grantsville junior midfielder Wesley Allen. Allen calmly put the ball in the open net to give the Cowboys a 2-0 advantage.
“Football is a harsh game — it can be a really, really cruel game,” Tooele coach Stephen Duggan said. “Unfortunately, the goalkeeper made a mistake and he got punished for it.”
Facing a two-goal deficit on the road, the Buffaloes knew they had to get on the board — and fast — if they were going to have any chance of coming back. They did just that in the 56th minute on a picture-perfect corner kick by Zach Galloway that senior midfielder Jackson Drake headed past Grantsville goalkeeper Parker May, cutting the lead in half.
Tooele continued to apply pressure over the next 15 minutes or so, forcing May and his defense to be on their toes to keep Grantsville in the lead.
“We dug deep, we showed a lot of spirit and we showed a lot of fight,” Duggan said. “We came back and we got a goal and we brought it to them again. For the next 10-15 minutes, the momentum was with us, and that’s when you have to capitalize on it.”
Eventually, the Buffaloes’ all-out effort to try to tie the game began to take a toll on their energy level, and the Cowboys started to regain the momentum. Grantsville put the game essentially out of reach in the 75th minute as Tooele’s defensive coverage began to break down, allowing senior Dakoda Baessler to find junior Tyson Tuckett with a perfect crossing pass that Tuckett easily pounded into the back of the net.
“We picked up the intensity a lot,” Lowry said. “We felt like the last 10 minutes of the first half, we started taking control of the play. We tried to come out and keep it moving.”
Duggan still was pleased with his team’s effort despite not getting the result the Buffaloes wanted. Tooele, which had a non-region match against Union on Saturday, will face Bear River on Tuesday in a key early season matchup between teams seeking their first region win.
“Hats off to Grantsville — it was a good win,” Duggan said. “Everybody who came out here today saw a good game of football. I still believe wholeheartedly that we’ll qualify for a state game this year. If we win [Tuesday], the momentum’s back with us. I believe that we can and we will.”
Meanwhile, Grantsville is in uncharted territory after opening region play with back-to-back wins. The Cowboys will have their hands full this week with Tuesday’s game at Stansbury and Friday’s home matchup with Ben Lomond.
“It’s awesome,” Lowry said. “We’ve never been here before. We’re excited, but we know we’ve got two tough ones next week. They’re the two traditional powers at the top of our region.”
dvaughan@tooeletranscript.com
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Cowboys score three in second half to beat Buffs
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