Morgan soccer wins at Grantsville and Ben Lomond

When the opposition bunkers in the sport of soccer, that usually means they’re expecting an onslaught. 

For this Morgan boys soccer team, it took a little tinkering to find the right formula to start scoring goals at Grantsville but they did so in a 4-0 win on Tuesday, March 26. 

“Grantsville put 10 players behind the ball so it was tough to find good scoring chances,” said head Coach Seth Wallace. 

According to Wallace, Beau Johnson received a ball outside the Grantsville penalty box in the 20th minute from junior Sam Sugden “and had a nice turn and shot.” 

Nine minutes after the senior Johnson scored to put Morgan ahead 1-0, a Sugden cross into the penalty box led to Noah Kinney’s first goal of the season, as the senior defender moved into scoring position and converted to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead in the first half. 

Jett Beckstrom then added to his team-leading goals tally with “a great volley off a corner kick” from senior Sam Sugden to close out the scoring in the first half and give the Trojans a 3-0 lead.  

“… And then another Beau cross from the end line that Jett tapped in off a back post run,” added Wallace of Beckstrom’s goal, his 13th this season and 31st of his career. 

In the second half, sophomore Cody Adams would score his 4th goal of the season on a penalty kick, said Wallace, to give the Trojans a 4-0 victory. 

At Ben Lomond, however, the game was more wide-open on Thursday, March 28. In the 18th minute, Beckstrom tacked on another goal, his 14th, on an assist from Johnson “off a counterattack that put him 1v1 with the keeper,” said Wallace. 

“His initial shot was saved but he collected the ball, rounded the keeper, and beat several defenders to slot it in,” said Morgan’s head coach. 

On the Trojans’ second goal of the game, their high press caused a turnover near Ben Lomond’s keeper. Nathan Haws punched it in amid all the chaos to give Morgan a 2-0 lead at the half. 

In the second half, Beckstrom paid back Johnson for that first-half gift, according to Wallace. 

“Jett returned the favor with a really nice ball in behind their defense that Beau ran onto for the finish,” said Wallace. That Johnson goal made the score 3-0. 

The Trojans would score very similar goals to wrap up this 5-1 win early in the second half, as Johnson and Haws each got their second goal of the contest in minutes 60 and 62.

“Our forwards were just faster than the [Ben Lomond] defense,” said Wallace, whose team will now be on a much-needed Spring Break until April 10. λ