In an up-and-down season, the Riverton girls soccer team got a tough draw for its first state playoff game. 

The Silverwolves finished fourth in Region 2 with a 6-6 record and ended the regular season with an 8-8 record overall. By getting the 12th seed in the Class 6A state tournament, the Silverwolves got a first-round bye. But that pitted the team against a talented American Fork squad, the fifth seed that eventually would reach the state finals. 

Riverton gave a good effort but couldn’t overcome the Cavemen in a 3-1 loss. 

Emmalee Christensen had a second-half goal for Riverton, her 11th goal of the year. Unfortunately for Riverton, it couldn’t overcome a 2-0 halftime deficit. The season ended, giving the team an 8-9 mark. 

Riverton had plenty of highs and lows this season, including both winning and losing streaks. 

One of the highlights of the season came in the Region 2 opener when Riverton defeated eventual league champion Mountain Ridge 2-1 on the road on Aug. 24. Riverton also concluded the regular season with a 2-1 victory over Copper Hills. The win denied the Grizzlies a chance to share the region title and knocked them down to second place in Region 2. Both Riverton goals in that contest came in the first half—one from Christensen (who also had an assist) and one from Marley Johnson. 

While the offense didn’t rack up a lot of goals (23), the defense was solid in most outings. The Silverwolves surrendered 31 goals in 17 games and 20 in 12 region games. However, six of those came in one game when Riverton lost to Real Salt Lake Academy 6-3 in a high-scoring game on Aug. 29. Goalie Daisy Johnson had 1.5 shutouts, and Brie Sampson contributed half a shutout. 

Christensen was far and away the leading scorer with her 11 goals. The senior ended her career with 22 total goals. Junior Marley Johnson was second on the team with four goals. Junior Ellie Anderson had three goals after scoring 15 a year ago. Another junior, Alli Sorenson, had two goals and two assists this season. Leah Cannon, Xoie Warner and Katie Cole had one goal each. Sophomore Ava Escobedo didn’t find the back of the net this season but had a team-high three assists. 

Riverton could be a factor in the region race next season. The team returns the bulk of its key players. Only eight seniors made up the Silverwolves’ 42-player roster. λ