The Carbon Dinos soccer squad finished up their season in the second round of the 3A State Championship Tournament on May 5. Carbon ended the year with a 9-6 record and claimed the No. 7 spot in the final RPI. They entered the playoffs on a four game winning streak and posted an 8-2 record in Region 12 play.

The Dinos will lose seven seniors to graduation this year including Noah Bradford who was top 10 in the state in the regular season in three categories: goals (15), assists (11) and points (41). Another senior, Eli Beecher scored 11 goals in nine games this season.

Below is a recap of the 2021 season:

March 11- Cedar- Loss 4-0

Starting the season on the road brings it’s own challenges. But the main one for Carbon was their first match with Cedar. The Cedar Reds are a 4A team from Cedar City. These two teams have not faced off against each other in recent memory.

The Reds were all over the Dinos in the match scoring four goals and stopping all Carbon offense shutting the Dinos out in the first match of the tournament.

March 12- Crimson Cliffs- Loss 7-0

Up next for Carbon was the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs, a new school from Washington, Utah that plays in the 4A ranks. Crimson Cliffs just opened in 2019.

Carbon has never faced Crimson Cliffs on the soccer field, and took the field on Friday morning in the second contest in as many days.

The Dinos were out manned allowing the Mustangs to score four goals in the first half and three in the second half. Crimson Cliffs would also shutout the Dinos, taking the match 7-0.

Trayden Stringham and Jack Monson would team up for the shutout for Crimson Cliffs registering three saves.

March 16- Waterford- Loss 3-2

Waterford is a school from the Sandy area that plays in the 2A Northern Division. Back in 2019 the Ravens went 14-2-1 and made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the State 2A Championship Tournament.

The Dinos have gotten off to a slow start this season but there is still plenty of soccer to be played between now and playoff time.

The two teams went back and forth in the first half going into the break tied at 1-1. In the second half, Waterford found a way to take the lead and never looked back holding the Dinos to a single goal in the half.

Payton Black and Eli Beecher each scored a goal in the loss for the Dinos.

March 18- Emery- Win- 3-1

It was really a tale of two halves as the Spartans seemed to lay claim to the first half and Carbon the second.

In the first half the Spartans seemed to move the ball freely about the field with little resistance from the Dinos. Carsen Childs would score the lone goal for Emery in the contest on a play where the Dinos seemed out of sorts and Childs swooped in to put the ball in the back of the net.

Moving in to the second half the Dinos would become a scoring machine. They moved the ball around the field with great foot work and finding the open man scoring three goals in the second half to seal their first win of the season. The trio of Joe Morley, Eli Beecher and Noah Bradford were responsible for the Carbon scoring.

March 23- Richfield-  Win 4-2

The Dinos looked to continue their winning ways as they welcomed the Richfield Wildcats to Price on Tuesday. Scoring two goals in each quarter the Carbon doubled up the Wildcats 4-2.

Carbon’s season record sits at 2-3 now and are in the thick of a four game home stand. More importantly the win put them at 2-0 in Region 12 play. With games against Grand and San Juan still on tap before they head back on the road the Dinos look to use the home field to their advantage.

Noah Bradford led the Dinos with two goals while Payton Black and Eli Beecher each added one.

For Richfield it was Daxton Tait and Jake Hyatt with goals for the Wildcats.

March 25- Grand- Loss 2-0

Carbon entered the contest with a 2-3 record and a 2-0 conference mark. Grand has yet to lose a game all season defeating region teams San Juan, South Sevier, Richfield and Emery. Carbon fell behind in the first half and was never able to get any offensive momentum dropping the match 2-0.

Carbon now carries a 2-4 record on the season and a 2-1 Region 12 mark. The Dinos are heading into spring break and when they return they will have a home contest with the San Juan Broncos on April 6. The Broncos have yet to win a game this season. The Dinos head out on the road after that, with contests against Richfield, Grand and Emery before they come home to face South Sevier on April 20.

The Dinos had been sitting on a two game winning streak before the loss to Grand.

March 26- Union- Win 3-0

Looking to get back in the win column, the Dinos traveled to Roosevelt to take on Union, a team from Region 14.

Carbon would take a 3-0 victory with goals from Noah Bradford, Eli Beecher and Joseph Morley. Their defense held all game posting a shutout for the first time this season.

April 6- San Juan- Win 10-0

The Dino soccer squad returned from Spring Break to face the San Juan Broncos. The Dinos needed no time to knock off the rust as they got to work quickly, scoring 10 goals in the first half and taking the win on Tuesday in Price.

Carbon soccer is sitting at 4-4 overall and 3-1 in region play. On April 8 the Utah High School Activities Association will release the initial RPI for 3A. The RPI will be used to set seeding when the State Championship Tournament starts on April 30.

The Dinos had six different players score in the game with two, Jackson Smith and Eli Beecher each adding three goals, Beecher would also collect an assist. Merrick Morgan, Max Lancaster and Joe Morley would all find the back of the net once, Noah Bradford also added a goal to go along with six assists. To add to an outstanding offensive effort, Dax Humes would earn a shutout in goal.

April 8- Richfield- Win 1-0

Dinos soccer traveled to Richfield on Thursday looking for the season sweep of the Wildcats, and after scoring just a single goal in the first half, Dax Humes would take care of the rest not allowing the Wildcats into the back of the net and collecting the 1-0 win.

Carbon is now coming off back-to-back shutouts of San Juan and Richfield with Humes between the pipes for both. The Dinos have a 5-4 record overall and have moved up one spot in the Utah High School Activities Association’s RPI rankings. The rankings will be updated after every game going forward until the playoffs which start on April 30. Carbon has just five games left this season all against Region 12 opponents.

For the Dinos, it was Noah Bradford that scored the lone goal in the contest, making that six on the season. Bradford also has collected nine assists which lands him at No. 5 in the state.

Dax Humes earned another shutout in goal making that two in a row.

April 13- Grand- Loss 1-0

The Carbon Soccer Club fell to 5-5 on Tuesday when they traveled to Moab to take on the Grand County Red Devils. These two teams met up back on March 25 with Grand taking a 2-0 victory. This time around the outcome was the same with the Red Devils taking a 1-0 win in Moab.

Grand is one of the better teams in 3A sitting at 7-0 and No. 3 in the Utah High School Activities Association RPI ranking.

Carbon has the No. 10 ranking with four games left on the season, the Dinos also sit in second place in Region 12.

Headed to halftime both teams had played to a scoreless tie. Moab would break the tie in the second half taking the victory to remain unbeaten.

April 16- Emery- Win 3-0

Carbon soccer moved to 6-5 on the season Friday night with a 3-0 victory over Emery in Castle Dale under the lights. In a tremendous team effort three different Dinos would score and defensively they would also register a shutout for the fourth time this season.

Carbon now sits at No. 8 in the state RPI rankings and 5-2 in Region 12 play with their two conference losses coming at the hands of Grand County who holds the No. 3 spot with a perfect 8-0 overall record.

The first goal of the game was scored on a penalty kick by Noah Bradford, who scored his seventh goal of the year.  In the second half Eli Beecher would get his eight goal of the year after getting one just past the fingertips of the Spartans goalie.  Merrick Morgan would bang home his second goal of the season off a throw in from the corner by Max Lancaster. Zac Chappell registered an assist as well.

Defensively Dax Humes earned his third shutout of the season.

April 20- South Sevier- Win 8-0

Carbon soccer moved their season record to 7-5 on Tuesday with an 8-0 victory over the South Sevier Rams in Price. Noah Bradford and Eli Beecher each collected their 10th goals of the season as the Dinos now sit at 6-2 in Region 12 play.

The Dinos, now at No. 8 in the state RPI continue to put wins together winning five of their last six contests, their only loss in April came at the hands of Grand, the No. 2 team in 3A.

Carbon jumped out early scoring five goals in the first half of Tuesday’s contest. They came out in the second half scoring three more times, securing the win.

Noah Bradford collected three goals in the contest and added one assist. Eli Beecher found the back of the net twice and registered one assist. Jackson Smith, Zac Chappell and Jackson Griffith rounded out the scoring with Griffith adding an assist and Max Lancaster contributed two.

Dax Humes earned the shutout win for Carbon his fourth on the year.

April 22- San Juan- Win 8-0

The Carbon soccer team made the long trip to Blanding to take on the San Juan Broncos on Thursday afternoon. Looking for a season sweep, the Dinos came out putting up eight goals and pitching a shutout for the second game in a row.

Carbon took a 2-0 advantage into the intermission and in the second half were able to find the back of the net six more times. Noah Bradford led the charge with three goals in the contest pushing his season total to 14 which lands him in the top 10 in the state.

Eli Beecher had another multiple goal game putting two into the back of the net and also added an assist. Jackson Smith, Merrick Morgan and Jackson Griffith rounded out the scoring for Carbon.

Defensively, Dax Humes was once again perfect in goal for the Dinos, earning his fifth shut out this season.

April 27- South Sevier- Win 7-0

Carbon soccer was on the road in Monroe on Tuesday looking for it’s eighth region win of the season. Jumping out in the first half with five goals the Dinos would add two more in the second and took the 7-0 victory in the final contest of the regular season.

Jackson Griffith and Zac Chappell would both collect two goals each for the Dinos. Merrick Morgan and Noah Bradford added one goal and one assist each. Joe Morley also added one goal in the contest.

Once again in between the pipes for Carbon, Dax Humes would earn another shutout, his sixth of the season and fourth in a row.

Bradford’s goal, his 15, would tie him for seventh in the state across all classifications, he also sits in the top 10 in assists.

Carbon heads into the playoffs on quite a roll. The Dinos have won seven of their last eight and are averaging five goals per contest over that stretch.

May 5- Juab- Loss 1-1 (5-4 in a shoot out)

Carbon welcomed in the No. 10 Juab Wasps for the second round of the 3A State Championship playoffs on Wednesday in Price. The Dinos and the Wasps were locked in a battle throughout the contest but Carbon’s season came to a close as they lost the match  5-4 in a tie-breaker.

Carbon and Juab scored their only goals in the first half. The second half and the overtime periods were a defensive showcase with both teams still tied at at the end of regulation and the two overtime periods.  Moving to penalty kicks to settle the outcome, Carbon came up just one goal short ending their season in the second round of the playoffs.

Carbon, who was ranked at No.7 was part of a very dubious group of four higher seeds that lost in Wednesday’s matches. No. 13 Emery defeated No. 4 Grand. Richfield the No. 12 team in the RPI, took down No.5 Grantsville. Emery and Richfield will face each other on Wednesday on the Wildcats home field. And Summit Academy No. 14, knocked out the the No. 3 Manti Templars.

The Dinos ended the season with a 9-6 overall record and were 8-2 in Region 12 play. Carbon now begins to look forward to next season.

Carbon will lean on underclassmen like Jackson Griffith, Jackson Smith and Zach Chappell to lead the soccer program when the season starts again next March.