Locked in a defensive battle at the end of the first half, the Emery Lady Spartans were unable to keep pace with the Richfield Wildcats in an eventual 3-0 setback Tuesday afternoon in Castle Dale.

Emery remained in striking distance of Richfield trailing just 1-0 at the end of the first half. The Wildcats managed to pull away in the final stanza as they added two more goals while completing the shutout effort.

Tuesday’s loss comes just one week after Emery logged its first region win of the season in a dominating 5-1 performance over the Grand Red Devils. Tuesday’s loss to Richfield dips the team’s overall record to 3-13 and region record to 1-6.

With only one game remaining on the regular season slate, the Lady Spartans will shift their focus to Thursday’s division finale on the road against the No. 6 ranked Carbon Dinos. Thursday will mark the second meeting between the two schools, the first ended in Carbon’s favor 2-1 back on Sept. 14.

Emery will enter Thursday’s game ranked No. 20 out of 22 teams in the UHSAA RPI. With their current placement in the RPI, Emery will almost certainly have to play a first round matchup in the 3A State Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 9.