A week remains before classes begin for the 2023–24 school year, but Region 5 girls soccer has already begun. And two Davis County rivals kicked off the league slate. 

Bountiful defeated Woods Cross 3-2 on Tuesday in an exciting matchup between the two crosstown foes. The Redhawks beat the Wildcats on both regular season meetings a year ago. The streak continued this week, with Bountiful overcoming a halftime deficit to rally for the win. 

Thanks to goals from Bella Erickson and Oakley Bell, Woods Cross was up 2-1 at the break, looking to move to 2-0 on the season. But it was all Bountiful in the second half, as the Redhawks scored twice and kept the Wildcats off the board. Sophie Winzeler Belle Sorensen and Caroline Hellewell scored for the Redhawks. Ellyse Kessler had an assist in the victory. Bell assisted on Erickson’s goal for Woods Cross. 

With the win, Bountiful improved to 2-1 on the young season and won its region-opening game after having lost it last year. 

The Redhawks have already seen quite a bit this season, having been on both ends of lopsided games and having prevailed in a close match. Bountiful began the year with a tough 5-0 loss to Class 6A’s Layton on Aug. 2. A talented Layton squad got up on the Redhawks 4-0 at halftime. However, two days later, Bountiful rebounded to take care of Provo 4-0 on the road. Hellewell scored twice and had an assist. Teammates Winzeler and Sorensen also scored, while Mya Page got an assist, and Kessler had two. 

Bountiful plays at Bonneville on Thursday, followed by a trip to Roy on Tuesday. 

As for Woods Cross, the Wildcats opened the season Aug. 3 with a 2-1 win at 6A opponent Mountain Ridge. Oakley Anderson had both Woods Cross goals – one in each half. Bailey Brown recorded assists on both goals. 

The Wildcats play at Clearfield on Thursday and then host Box Elder next Tuesday. Clearfield is new to Region 5; the Falcons were previously in Region 1 of 6A. Roy is also new to the region. With eight teams in Region 5, Woods Cross, Bountiful and the other teams in the league will have 14 league games this season.