(St. George, UT) – The Pine View Panthers girls soccer team rose to the top of the Region 9 standings with their lopsided 5-1 win Thursday night against visiting Hurricane.

The crowd on hand at Panther Stadium witnessed an exhibition of impressive soccer-skill set put on by Pine View senior Kali Stubbs.

Stubbs tallied three goals and at times, she appeared as if she was playing the game on another stratum.

Panthers’ senior McKenzie Hawes affirmed that her teammate Stubbs is exceptionally talented.

“If you get her the perfect ball, no one can stop her,” Hawes said.

Before Stubbs was dazzling, Hurricane struck first in only the fifth minute when Shantai Bowen kicked a close-range ball (eight yards out) to the left of the Panther goalie and into the far left corner of the net putting them up 1-0.

It was as if the Tigers sounded a message suggesting that they did not ride the bus over to St. George to jump rope with the Panthers.

The Panthers (5-1-1) responded in a big way soon after. In the 24th minute, Hawes scored the tying goal on a spectacular shot from 25 yards out. She zig-zagged through a couple of defenders then let a ball fly over the top of the Hurricane keeper.

The senior was visibly limping at times but she toughed it out showing her gritty manner.

“I strained my hamstring in the last game and was just hoping I did not tear it anymore,” Hawes said.

Thirty-five seconds later Stubbs began her great show of offense.

She received the ball around the 20-yard line and was right of the Tigers’ box five yards. Stubbs, a right-footed player, had the ball on her left-foot though when the opening came. She fired a grounder across the front of the net past the keeper into the far left corner putting Pine View up 2-1.

“I just turned and found a corner,” Stubbs said. “I knew I had to hit it hard.”

The Panthers’ 2-1 lead held up to halftime and 15 minutes into the second half. That’s when Stubbs picked up the pace.

Stubbs was running with an appearance of exhaustion and her coach was yelling to her “You’re in better shape than that.”

She found a burst of energy suddenly and scored her second goal from an assist by her younger sister Kiera Stubbs, making the Pine View lead 3-1.

“I was feeling fatigued, but in the back of my mind, I was saying ‘I’ve got to score,’” Stubbs said.

Remarkably, Stubbs was not playing her normal position on this night.

“I’ve been playing forward this season, but coach placed me back to mid-field,” Stubbs said. “It’s more running, but I enjoyed it. I liked it a lot.

“I want to play there more. You definitely get the ball more and get to fight for control.”

Stubbs’ little sister showed a skill move too.

Kierra, a sophomore, had the ball at the 15-yard line facing opposite of the Tigers’ net. She spun around 180 degrees and launched the ball past the keeper making the score 4-1 at the 61st minute.

Then Stubbs (Kali) capped her brilliant game with 13 minutes remaining by scoring her third goal and received the chants of “Hat Trick” from the Pine View crowd.

She credited the win and the Pine View current state of good play to a developing cohesiveness on the team.

“We are starting to understand how each other works off of each other,” Stubbs said.

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IN OTHER REGION 9 ACTION:

Desert Hills (3-3-1) won in the dramatic way over Dixie 2-1 in double overtime when Berkley Bundy scored her second goal (10) with only 27 seconds remaining.

The Thunder’s third Region 9 win surpasses any they have ever had in the school’s brief history (four years).

The loss extended the Flyers losing streak to three games. Dixie had won its first seven matches this season and has suddenly had a tough streak.

For the Thunder though, they are riding high and showing an improved competitive-ability.

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Snow Canyon rolled over host Canyon View 4-1. The Warriors’ win has them tied with Pine View for first place in the region standings.

Mitzi Gates, Callie Stewart, Sarah Henderson, and Cecilee Horlacher all scored goals for the Warriors (5-1-1) giving them an across-the-board offensive output.

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REGION 9 GIRLS SOCCER STANDINGS

Snow Canyon 5-1-1 (7-2-1 overall)

Pine View 5-1-1 (5-4-1)

Cedar 4-1-1 (6-3-1)

Desert Hills 3-3-1 (5-5-1)

Dixie 3-3-1 (7-3-1)

Hurricane 1-5-1 (4-5-1)

Canyon View 0-7 (2-9)

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REGION 9 GIRLS GOAL SCORING LEADERS

10 G Berkley Bundy (Desert Hills)

9 G Kali Stubbs (Pine View)

8 G Carly Stratton(Hurricane)

7 G Ashlee Braun(Canyon View), Aubri Challis(Dixie)

6G Tirsa Snyder(Snow Canyon), Lynne Taylor(Hurricane)

5G Katie Lawely(Canyon View), Brindley Oldroyd(Cedar), Makayla Warby(Cedar), Callie Stewart(Snow Canyon)