The move turned out to be a good thing for the Wildcats, who used their revamped home-field advantage by scoring three first half goals on their way to a 4-2 victory. The win for Woods Cross guaranteed them a No. 2 seed heading into the 4A state playoffs, giving the team a home game in the opening round.
Woods Cross quickly got out of the gate in scoring mode, scoring the game’s first goal in just the seventh minute when Ethan Cope knocked in the goal to give the Wildcats the 1-0 lead. Justin Ward and Leo Calquin set up each other’s goals in the 20th and 25th minute to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead early on.
In the 20th minute, a free kick from Dalan Cole went to Ward, who dribbled the ball near the scoring area before sending a cross pass to Calquin. Calquin headed in the goal for the 2-0 Wildcats lead. Five minutes later, Calquin made a perfect cross pass into traffic that landed in front of Ward, who scored for the three-goal halftime lead.
Truman Ballard, however, was relatively busy keeping Bountiful off the scoreboard in the first half, deflecting or saving at least six Braves opportunities in the first 40 minutes.
Ballard’s only goals allowed came on penalty kicks in the 60th and 79th minute of play.
Between the two penalty kick goals by Bountiful –each scored by Richard Haddock– Calquin scored his second and final goal of the game to give the Wildcats a 4-1 lead at the time.
Woods Cross finished the regular season with a 10-6 overall mark. The team’s 7-3 region record helped them claim the No. 2 seed in Region 6, giving them a home game to open up the 4A state soccer tournament. Bountiful finished the regular season with a 7-6-3 overall record while going 5-4-1 in region play.
The Wildcats will likely open up the playoffs against Timpanogos, the No. 3 seed from Region 8. Bountiful will have to play on the road to open the playoffs and could face either Mountain View or Orem in the opening round.
Both games will take place next Wednesday at 4 p.m.
sgillet@davisclipper.com



