In high school sports, the postseason offers almost every team a chance at winning a championship. That’s welcome news for teams that came up short of achieving goals in the regular season and that struggled. As for the Woods Cross girls soccer team, the Class 5A state tournament is a chance for the girls to give it their all and make a run at the top prize. 

The Wildcats had some memorable moments and strong showings during the regular season. 

Woods Cross went 7-7 in Region 5, placing fifth. Overall, the Wildcats were 8-7 and outscored their foes 36-27 on the year. Down the stretch, the Wildcats had won three games in a row, defeating Viewmont (3-0 on Sept. 14), Bonneville (3-2 on Sept. 19) and Roy (6-1 on Sept. 21). In the game against Roy, Woods Cross scored three times in each half, and Oakley Anderson exploded with four goals. The winning streak ended in the regular season finale against Northridge with a 4-2 loss on Sept. 26. That defeat was difficult considering Woods Cross had defeated Northridge 2-0 on Aug. 29. 

Only six Wildcats scored this season. But what the team lacked in balanced scoring, it made up for with star power. Anderson had 19 goals on the season, good enough for second among all Class 5A players. Anderson also tied Clara Howes for the team lead in assists with four. Nixon Milliron had five goals for the second-highest total for the Wildcats. Bailey Brown totaled four goals and two assists. Goalie Elsie Roberts had two shutouts in the net. 

It was a season of streaks for Woods Cross, which makes the state tournament an intriguing opportunity for the team.

After winning its season opener over Mountain Ridge, Woods Cross dropped three games in a row. The Wildcats then went on a four-game winning streak, allowing only two goals in the process. That string of wins came to an end and preceded three consecutive losses. That was when Woods Cross won three of its final four games. 

Woods Cross went 9-8 a year ago and lost a heartbreaker to Mountain View in a shootout in the first round of the state tournament. 

Head coach David Newman’s squad will lose eight seniors from the roster, but plenty of players will be back next season. On this season’s roster, there were six juniors, 10 sophomores and nine freshmen. λ