The Emery Spartan soccer squad traveled to St. George over the weekend to play two games in as many days. Emery looks forward to the trip every year as a great way to build as a team. The Spartans earned their first win of the season against the Millard Eagles but fell to the 4A Pineview Panthers.

With such a short season (six weeks) and a significant region (eight teams), there isn’t much room for non-region games and the camaraderie built in these two-day tournaments. Recently Coach Troy Winter joined KOAL’s Drive Time Sports to talk about what the weekend meant.

“It’s kind of a two-fold thing for Emery Soccer. It’s an opportunity for boys to hang out together, we get to socialize together, we get to eat meals together, and we kind of get to know each other a little bit, get comfortable with everybody, and get everybody to buy in on what’s going on with Emery Soccer. We play some really good teams down there, there’s a lot of 4A, 5A, and 6A teams that go down there.”

In the first game on Friday, the Spartans faced Millard, a team from the 2A South. Emery found the back of the net in this one, taking a 3-1 win.

This game was about getting that first mark in the win column, and that is precisely what Emery accomplished behind Seth Winter, who collected two goals, and Peyton Sermon, who added the other, giving the Spartans their first win 3-1.

Moving to day number two, Emery faced Pineview.

Emery had zero answers for the Falcons as they came out and scored four goals in the first half to take a 4-0 lead at halftime. The second half was a carbon copy of the first with Pinview adding four more to take an 8-0 win, putting the Spartans at 1-3 this season.

Emery returns on the pitch on Wednesday when they welcome the Delta Rabbits to Castle Dale for the Spartans home opener.

Game times set for 4:00 p.m..