by Jake Gordon

STAFF WRITER

In their final home game, Tooele didn't play like a team looking for their first Region 7 win. Scoring two first-half goals and then adding another two in the second half, Tooele buried Payson 4-0.

DJ Gallegos and Jake Golden were both responsible for two goals apiece, while Gallegos continually out-hustled Payson defenders and nearly got a hat-trick for the Buffs.

Tooele started early as they came out pressing the offense and creating scoring opportunities. In the 11th minute Gallegos took a perfect pass from Golden and knocked the ball into the lower right corner of the net past Payson keeper Mike Tobler.

After falling down a goal, Payson put extra effort into taking advantage of the Tooele defense. David Martinez and Kyle Staheli continually applied pressure in the first half, accounting for a couple shots apiece for both Payson players.

No matter what pressure came at them, Tooele defenders Jason Faudree and Sam England were able to snuff out any scoring opportunity. Also, whatever attack the Tooele defense could not stop the crossbar on the goal really helped out the Buffs as Payson clanked three first-half shots off the crossbar.

Although Tooele was taking on frantic scoring tries, they still had a couple opportunities to widen the lead. With his ability to throw the ball deep into midfield Zach Jensen created a scoring opportunity in the 34th minute. Golden took a one-hop throw from Jensen and headed into the net for a spacious 2-0 lead, that held up into halftime.

Any second-half comeback hopes were destroyed by the hustle of Gallegos. Two minutes into the half Gallegos again out-ran his opponent to the ball and knocked in his second goal of the day, giving the Buffaloes a 3-0.

Down three goals, Brady Tew did not give up and started attacking the Tooele defenders getting off a few shots of his own. However, with the help of Tooele keeper Kolton Kinsman, the Buffs were able to keep the goose egg on Payson's side of the scoreboard.

With 10 minutes remaining in the game and a nearly insurmountable three goal lead, Tooele was still in attack mode. Mitch Gallegos made a strong run at the goal in the 70th minute and got the ball past the keeper, right as Golden was there to finish off the play and drive the ball into the net. The 4-0 lead Tooele had was now way out of reach for Payson.

"This was the first game that we came out as focused in the game as we do in practice," coach Alex Zamora said. "We finally overcame our mental hurdle to convert practicing to the actual game."

With their first region win in hand, Tooele will look to close out the season with two consecutive wins Friday against Springville at 7 p.m.

jgordon@tooeletranscript.com