Halfway through the Region 10 season, the Tooele boys soccer team is feeling pretty good about itself.
So is Grantsville, but the Cowboys still have work left to do if they want to make the playoffs, particularly after suffering a 2-0 loss to Tooele on Tuesday that dropped them to 1-3 in region play — one game ahead of Union for the fourth and final postseason spot.
“Our goal is state, and we’ve still got our eyes on it,” Grantsville coach Travis Lowry said. “I think we can make it to the tournament. We’re looking forward to the second half.”
Tooele (3-6-2, 2-2 Region 10) sits in third place with four games remaining, and likely only needs a tie out of one of those contests to seal its first playoff berth in more than a decade.
“All the pressure’s off, really,” Tooele coach Stephen Duggan said. “All the pressure’s on Grantsville and Union to catch us. It’s always nice to have a little breathing room.”
The Buffaloes got on the board in the 19th minute of Tuesday’s match when a long through ball from Thies Herman found the feet of freshman striker Hunter Meyer, who converted on the ensuing breakaway.
“I played it a little too hard, but I was still pressing,” Meyer said. “The defender kicked it and it deflected off me, I got my touch, dribbled it around the goalie and just tapped it in.”
Grantsville (2-5, 1-3) didn’t go away after Meyer put Tooele in front, and had several glorious chances turned away by Buffs goalkeeper Jaren Wilson. However, with time winding down, the Cowboys committed a critical foul against Tooele’s Alex Dunn, which gave Meyer the opportunity to seal the game with a well-placed penalty kick into the upper right corner of the goal behind Grantsville goalkeeper Scott May with about five minutes remaining.
“The first goal, we didn’t take a good angle to the ball and missed it, and it’s hard for a goalie one-on-one,” Lowry said. “The second one, I think it was just frustration. It was an intense game and we lost our cool, lost our head a little bit.”
Meyer’s second goal of the afternoon gave the Buffs all the breathing room they needed, which was crucial in a game that featured intense play — and intensity coming from the sideline.
“It’s a passionate game played by passionate people, so you’re going to get that,” Duggan said. “When the game’s over, you let it go and you move on. I’d rather have two teams going at it in a rivalry game like that than two teams just sitting back, holding hands and kissing each other on the cheek. This isn’t time to be sitting around the campfire making smores — this is why you play the game.”
Duggan said he would like to see Grantsville advance to the postseason.
“I wish [Grantsville] the best of luck in the future, until they play us,” he said. “I hope they qualify ahead of Union — as long as they’re not in third or second ahead of us.”
Grantsville, which lost nine of its 11 starters to graduation after last season, is in the process of rebuilding, but Lowry still likes the Cowboys’ chances. Grantsville travels to Park City on Friday to begin the second half of the region season.
“I think we’re playing better than we were,” Lowry said. “We’ve just got to eliminate those few mistakes. I feel confident that we can do well against these teams. I’m positive that we can get some results.”