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Draper • After knocking off American Fork, 1-0, in the Class 5A semifinals at Juan Diego High on Tuesday morning, Fremont huddled together, with several players yelling: "We broke the streak."
The Silver Wolves (16-1-1) have experienced their fair share of heartbreak in the postseason, including one-goal losses in the semifinals in 2015 and 2013, but will finally have an opportunity to win the first girls' soccer championship in school history.
"They knew they were going to go to the finals," said Fremont coach Kelly Parke. "They've had some really good teams throughout the program, and they've never made it to the finals, so that was the big streak they were after, of course."
After several clean looks early in the first half, Fremont finally scored when Karstyn Peterson's hard-fired shot ricocheted off the American Fork keeper and Katelyn Allen was there to clean it up for a 1-0 advantage in the 16th minute.
"I saw Karstyn went wide and she's really good at feeding the ball off. I didn't know what was going to happen, so I knew I had to be right there in the middle," Allen said. "... You have to be ready for anything."
American Fork (16-3) struggled to generate consistent possessions, something Fremont focused on entering the second meeting between the two programs. The Wolves won 2-0 in the first meeting.
"To play fast and to press the ball everywhere," Parke said of his team's objective. "I didn't think they could play with us if we pressed. I think right in the first five minutes, we could see if we could put enough pressure on them, we could possess the ball more than they could."
Fremont will play at Rio Tinto Stadium against Davis on Friday at 4:30 p.m., and Allen understood her team will be considered significant underdogs, saying "We're going in knowing we have to play our best game. We're ready for it. We're pumped."
Davis 6, Copper Hills 0
The Darts (19-0), ranked No. 1 in the nation, won their 43rd straight game, and will try to become only the fourth team in state history to win three consecutive state titles, joining Alta (2006-09), Mountain View (2000-02) and Olympus (1994-96).
Copper Hills (13-6) was the No. 1 seed from Region 3, as the semifinals featured the top programs from all four leagues.
Ally Olcott gave Davis a 1-0 cushion less than two minutes into the game. Mikayla Colohan extended the advantage to 2-0 with a header into the right corner of the net in the 29th minute. Colohan added another goal in the second half, while Olivia Wade, Kate McMaster and Lindsey DiReda each scored once in the second 40 minutes.
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
R Fremont will play for its first state championship in school history after defeating American Fork, 1-0.
• Davis will try to become the fourth program in state history to win three consecutive titles after knocking off Copper Hills 6-0.
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Class 5A state championship
P Fremont (16-1-1) vs. Davis (19-0)
At Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy
Friday, at 4:30 p.m.