Sandy • Berlyn Dibble had been itching for a goal all season for the Skyline Eagles, and the senior’s first came on the biggest stage of them all.
Dibble received a pass from fellow Eagles senior Lily Boyden nearly 40 yards away from the goal in the second half of their 5A championship game against the Lehi Pioneers. She took a touch and launched it.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skyline High School defeated Lehi High School, 3-1 to win the 5A Championship title Oct. 22, 2021 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Skyline coach Yamil Castillo said watching the ball sail through the air happened in slow motion. When it finally found the back of the net, Dibble kicked her leg out in celebration as her teammates swarmed her.
That goal broke a tie and gave Skyline the momentum to eventually win the 5A title, beating Lehi 3-1 for its second championship in the last three years.
“I think it had been a lot building up over the season because I’d been wanting to score so bad, so it just felt unreal that it finally happened,” Dibble said. “I’m kind of known for some weird victory dances, so that kind of came out of nowhere.”
Boyden, who recorded a brace herself, opened the scoring with less than 15 minutes left in the first half. Her goal came off senior Rozlin Gomez’s assist to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
But Lehi equalized just four minutes later. Junior Kamara Simmons put on a dribbling display and had her initial shot saved by Skyline senior goalkeeper Brianna Frey, but scored on the rebound.
“That goal was just blue collar — working hard and just putting it in the back of the net,” Lehi coach Tim Graham said.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lehi reacts to the loss to Skyline during the 5A State Soccer Championship game on Friday. Skyline High School defeated Lehi High School, 3-1 to win the 5A Championship title Oct. 22, 2021 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Much of the game went back and forth for the full 80 minutes. The Pioneers had a second-half opportunity from distance that hit the crossbar that could have given them the lead.
But Dibble’s goal made the difference after both teams stood deadlocked at halftime.
“We just ran out of gas at the end,” Graham said.
Boyden scored a goal for good measure with less than two minutes remaining in the game for the final score. Senior Ella Carmody assisted Boyden on the goal.
“The last goal, that game-winning goal, is just a really, really good feeling to know that all our hard work paid off,” Boyden said. “It destroyed their [Lehi’s] hope to win and really secure the win for us, I think.”
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skyline mobs Lily Boyden (11) after her late goal minutes before the end of the game during the 5A State Soccer Championship game on Friday. Skyline High School defeated Lehi High School, 3-1 to win the 5A Championship title Oct. 22, 2021 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Boyden did not play for the Eagles in her three previous high school years.
Castillo said when Boyden tried out for the team this year, he didn’t even know who she was. But her skill level shone through in the preseason, and his thought was, “We’re going to win with this kid.”
Behind Boyden’s emergence and Dibble’s heroics, Skyline remained perfect in 2021.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Skyline’s goalkeeper.
