Templars accelerate through second half, beat North Sanpete decisively

By James Tilson

Sports writer

9-6-2018

MANTI—A second half explosion put a tight game out of reach, as the Manti Lady Templars defeated the North Sanpete Lady Hawks 5-0 last Thursday in a girls soccer match at Manti High School.

Although Manti took a 1-0 lead in the first half, the Lady Templars struggled to maintain possession through to scoring opportunities. “It took us a little bit to get our groove, but we found it,” said Manti Head Coach Elishia Steinfeldt. “We came out sluggish, but we worked through it.”

In the second half, the “groove” came around for Manti. In the space of about ten minutes, the Lady Templars blew open the game, scoring four goals in quick succession. Steinfeldt said the explosion was a result of hard work by the team to keep possession as a team. “We’ve been working really hard to play possession ball, and not just force the ball down the field. We want to stay connected, and move forward as a team.”

North Sanpete Head Coach Mickel Holder admitted her team may have run out of gas in the second half, but they were also dealing with some adversity as well. “It was both physical and mental. We’ve been working on our physical training, and we’re not quite there yet. But we had four injured varsity players today, three of them starters. I was really proud of our first half effort.”

Kassidy Alder and Ally Squire both had two goals for the Lady Templars, while Jayci Jolley added on another. Goalkeeper Jentry Young maintained a clean sheet by shutting out the Lady Hawks.

Both teams have begun their region schedules. North Sanpete travels to Grand County today, and plays South Sevier and Richfield next week. Manti travels to Richfield today, and plays Grand County and Emery next week.