Cool Stuff

The high school soccer season is over and Kennedee is back at club practicing alot in Sandy. I really enjoyed the months of just driving a mile or two to games and practices instead of an hour +. But she is super happy to be back with her Sparta friends and the break did me some good. Madison has decided to quit dancing. The fights to make her go every week got old really fast so she made that decision to quit. But she wants to do gymnastics next year. The personalities of the 2 kids are so different. Kennedee can't sit still for 1 day and has to be involved in everything she can and Madison is perfectly happy to stay at home and hang with friends sometimes or just chill in her room.
The football playoffs start this weekend and Kennedee is super excited to play and hopefully they will win and make it to the mini superbowl and play at Rice Eccles. Go team.
Right after Kennedee started playing football, her coach approached her to tell her there is a new magazine in Utah County that highlights athletes and they had contacted him and wanted to do an article on her being a girl kicker. She asked if her soccer teammate that kicks for the varsity team could be involved in it to. So the 2 of them went and got pictures taken and did an interview. We have been excited to see the finished product. We got the magazine last night and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it would be a little pamphlet kind of magazine, but it was a pretty big one. I highlights all the high schools in Utah county and the sports that are being played in that season. Kennedee's article turned out good and she was also mentioned in the MMHS section for soccer. I am super proud of her. She is a typical teenager and we butt heads more often than not, but she is a good kid.

Sorry that you can't read the article, I can't scan it any better. If you want to subscribe or see the site, you can go to www.facebook.com/.../Utah-Valley-Preps-Magazine or utahvalleypreps.com.

We are out

Timpview's goalkeeper Nisha Bindraban, bottom, slides in to make a save as her teammate Allie Larson, left, and Maple Mountain's Kennadee Tracy jump over her during their playoff game in Mapleton Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
Last nights game against Timpview was a heartbreaker. We dominated most of the game but just couldn't put the ball in the net. Our team played with a lot of heart and were crushed when it came down to PK's after 2 OT's. Kennedee was going to be the 5th kicker at PK's and didn't even get a chance to have her turn. Below is the article from the daily herald.
When a playoff girls soccer game is still tied after the overtime periods, the winner is decided by which team can make the most penalty kicks in five tries. In this scenario, the offensive player is supposed to have the advantage.
Unless -- as Maple Mountain found out Tuesday afternoon -- the goalkeeper is Timpview sophomore Nisha Bindraban.
With score tied at two goals apiece after 100 minutes of action (two 40 minute halves and two 10 minute overtime periods) in the first round of the 4A state tournament, Bindraban calmly stepped between the pipes at Maple Mountain and blocked three of the four penalty kicks made by the Golden Eagles. Her teammates capitalized on the opportunity, scoring on three of their four opportunities to earn the victory, 2-2 (3-1 on penalty kicks).
"It feels amazing (to win and advance)," Bindraban said. "I've never been able to do that (stop 3-of-4 penalty kicks). I guess that shows I'm improving."
With the game on the line, the sophomore pushed two shots high and off the crossbar and stopped another by diving onto the ground.
That was all the Thunderbirds needed, as senior Sicily Bennett and junior Mary Mitton buried theirs. That set the stage for senior Kelsey Badger, who had already had a great game for the visitors.
"Normally on PKs I'm really stressed," Badger explained. "I went up grabbed the ball, I smiled at the ball, the keeper, and at my friends in the crowd. I thought, 'this is great,' and I shot it. I was happy doing it and that made me relax."
Badger played a vital role in getting Timpview to that point in the game, scoring a goal right before the half and another right after the break to give the Thunderbirds a two-goal advantage.
"Those were two big goals," said Timpview head coach Rob Dahl. "She had to come out of the game in the second overtime with cramps but she was able to go back in there and hit the deciding PK, which was big."
Dahl said that the goals were huge for his team, which had been trying to hang on against the Maple Mountain attack for much of the first half. The missed opportunities, were ones that the Golden Eagles came to regret.
"It was pretty disappointing that we got down," said Maple Mountain head coach Carolyn Swenson. "We had some good opportunities but we had a hard time capitalizing today. We struggled to put the ball away."
Down by two, the home team rallied. A goal by junior Natalie Hickey in the 48th minute gave the Golden Eagles life, then a gorgeous curving shot from the left side of the field by freshman Kennadee Tracy with 10 minutes left in regulation tied things up."Maple Mountain is a good team that is well-coached and physical," Dahl said. "They didn't quit. They kept coming until they were able to tie it up."
Neither team got very many chances to put the game away in the overtime periods and every opportunity was turned aside, setting up the thrilling shootout and Bindraban's heroics.
"It helped a lot knowing she (Bindraban) was going to be in there," Badger said. "She has saved our butts so many times. She's one of the best keepers, so we just had to go put them in."
For the Golden Eagles, the loss ended a very promising season but with only two seniors on the roster, Maple Mountain will return plenty of firepower next fall.
"We made huge strides this season," Swenson said. "Twice we came back from being down 2-0 to tie the game. That's a sign of the courage these girls have and I'm excited about next year."
The Thunderbirds move on to play at East on Thursday in the 4A state quarterfinals, which defeated Lehi 2-1 in overtime to advance. The game is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m.

The picture below is a true reflection of how our whole team felt. See Kennedee in the background.

Go MMHS Girls Soccer

Today is the first game for the state tournament. The following is the Artice in the Daily Herald.
With two teams in the 4A top three and four in the statewide top 20, Utah County programs figure to be a significant factor in the title chase this year.
They also boast seven of the top eight scorers in 4A, starting with Springville's Lexi Eaton, who leads the entire state with 33 goals this season.
The others are Baylee Nielsen (Maple Mountain, 24), Jen Mason (Springville, 23), Marissa Nimmer (Timpanogos, 18), McKenzie Adams (Timpanogos, 17), Kennedee Tracy (Maple Mountain, 15) and Megan Marchbanks (Springville, 14).
However, all of these girls are surrounded by great players on very balanced teams, which is why they're expected to make some noise during the tournament.
No. 20 Maple Mountain (12-4-0) hopes to get the first playoff win for the Golden Eagles in this sport when they take on Timpview (9-6-1), but it won't be easy. Both teams have a lot of talent and this could be one of the best matches of the first round.
Good luck Kennedee!!!

2 years ago today

Dear Nana,
2 years ago today your frail little body finally let you go to heaven. Heavenly father tried to take you home many times, but your love for life here on earth made you fight it every step of the way. At 97 you could still run circles around me, your sit ups were swift and you made it look so easy. Your weak heart was just a little something that you didn’t let keep you down. Heavenly father knew you would fight it so the only thing that could finally take you was cancer. You fought every step every day to stay on earth with us. When we thought you were in so much pain you couldn’t take it anymore, you surprised us all to wake up and worry more about us eating dinner than the fact you had been in bed moaning all day as we stood around your bed silently praying for you to let go. You are the strongest person I know. Always finding the best in people and never giving up hope that they would come back to the fold. If we could all be a little bit like you, the world would be a better place.
2 years ago we lost something very precious to us, but grandpa, Ashley, the rest of your family and heaven gained someone very precious. You had a greater calling to get to.
We know you are still with us with every journey we take in life. You are our guardian angel and we miss you terribly. Family parties and trips to St George are not the same without your quick wit and sense of humor. We are so thrilled for you to be able to be in heaven with your family and still watching over us. We look forward to the day we can all be an eternal family and reunite with you.
We love you very much.
Until we meet again.
Kennedee, Madison and Stacey
P.S. Aunt Mame is still waiting for you to send the word about her.




We all wrote letters and put them in balloons and sent them off to heaven.

Yay for fall

It is starting to get a colder and the leaves have changed. Fall is here and although I love summer, I do love the leaves changing and the thought of wearing big baggy sweatshirts and watching football.
This year I have watched a lot of football. I just didn't think it would be my daughter playing it. Last weekend they played Spanish Fork. It was another intense game. It was tied until we intercepted a pass and ran it down for a touchdown with less than a minute left. Great game. Kennedee made all but 1 PAT and had some great kickoffs. She is loving it. Her longest field goal is 48 yards. She had a photo shoot on saturday for a high school prep magazine article about her and another girl at MMHS that kicks for the varsity team. She was pretty excited about that. Hopefully this opens up alot more doors for her and really cements that college scholarship. (crossing my fingers). But for now she is just loving being on the field whether its soccer or football.






After the fb game we all went to Hee Haw farms for a little fun. It was a little disappointing this year because it was hot and dusty but the kids still had a great time.





We also did a little photo shoot of our own.

WOW

This post is mainly so Kennedee can look at it in a few years and remember the details of last nights game against Springville. They are undefeated in our region and the first time we played them at their home field on homecoming was a joke. I was so appalled at the fans and how they treated our team and more amazed that the principal condones their actions. For homecoming week, they have a hate MMHS day and they bash our school. They were HORRIBLE at the game. They were allowed to sit right behind the goal and they taunted our team and goalie the whole second half. Their team has beat everyone pretty bad this season and they have had some games called early because of the high score. The whole second half they taunted our team and said the most horrible, crude, rude things. The funny thing was, there were parents by them and NO ONE made them stop or move. At our field no one can be behind the goals or even on that side of the field, but not at Springville. Girls on our team asked the ref many times to make the crowd move but to no avail they stayed there. FINALLY, the ref made them move from behind the goal net. Seriously??!! They scooted over 5 feet but still made their comments. They scored 6 goals in the second half and it was a tough loss. They even taunted Kennedee as her and I walked past them to the car after the game. I couldn't wait for them to come to our field, I knew the game would be different.
Most of this season has been frustrating. There is such a huge difference with high school ball and club ball and Kennedee is feeling the stress. We have to remember she is only a freshman and she is scoring every game and playing against girls 3-4 years older than her. We are so competitive and it is hard to see her team not play well together.
So last night we got our second chance with Springville. I have been so frustrated that I sat away from everyone so I wouldn't yell at anyone or at Kennedee. I sat close to the corner between the Springville fans and the goal net. I sat pretty good at first but once I saw the intensity our team came out with, I moved to the edge of my seat. Kennedee was on fire and you could tell our team wanted this game. I think Springville was a little shocked. Kennedee had a great run and took a shot, it went right to the goalies hands but she dropped it and fell to the ground, Kennedee ran over her and shot the ball into the goal. The ref called it back but didn't give her a card. That was the first of MANY bad calls by the ref. Our team fought hard but we got calls on us left and right. Rachel took so many shots and ended up on the ground but never got a foul called on the other team. At the half we were down by 2. They had a great talk at half time and 10 minutes into the half Kennedee scored our first goal. The crowd and the team went crazy. There were so many people there. I have never been to a soccer game (and I have been to allot of games) where there has been so many fans cheering. The momentum shifted and MM dominated the rest of the half but with all the bad calls it was hard to score. Kennedee had another great run and had a beautiful cross right in front of the goal and Baylee popped it in the goal. Score 2-2. Time ran out and I walked down by the rest of the parents. But since it was a tie breaker game for first place in our region we had to go to OT. Our girls had played so hard and physical but you could tell they wanted this so bad. Kennedee had played all but a couple of minutes and had so many runs across the field up and down she was exhausted. Rachel had taken so many hits and been ran over so much she was exhausted. But OT started and they were ready. The JV football team had just ended their game on a win and the WHOLE team came over to watch. I am still amazed at the support our team had and the crowd. The FB team cheered like cheerleaders and you could see our team perk up. Kennedee had a girl pushing her over her back and pulling on her and she stood up and pushed her off of her and the ref called a foul on Kennedee right in front of where the FB team was standing. The crowd exploded. The ref was laughing, I am not sure if it was because he was thinking "holy cow, I am in trouble" or he really thought the call was funny. The first OT ended at a tie and we went into a second OT. Our team was cheering for each other, supporting each other and for the first time all season, actually played like a family. 2 minutes left in the second OT, we go a foul called on us (surprise, surprise) in the box. I couldn't hear myself yell with how loud the crowd was freaking out. A ref should know better than to make a call like that, especially in a OT tie breaker game. But we lost on a PK. It was so heart breaking, but the girls kept their heads high.
Kennedee was so exhausted and had such a red face. The adrenaline was gone pretty quick and she said that is the first time ever that she has felt like passing out after a game. She played awesome and played most of the game, she had a right to be tired. But now she has to go to FB practice and take some practice kicks. That girl makes me tired.
Today I pull up the daily herald to see what they wrote. After the game at Springville they had a huge article and a video and some not so flattering pictures of Kennedee, so I was excited to see what they wrote. I am a little disappointed that they didn't say more about our team but I have learned its all about the writers perspective. Hence the reason I wrote this post while its fresh on my mind.
Enjoy the Daily Heralds take below:
Eaton PK gives Devils 2OT victory
The Queen of Clutch came through once again.
Down by two scores at the break, the young Maple Mountain girls soccer team roared back impressively in the second half to tie the contest and bring on overtime.
Halfway through the second extra period, Springville star Lexi Eaton was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down in the box.
With the precision of a well-practiced soldier, Eaton calmly stepped up and drilled the shot into the right corner to secure the win for the visiting Red Devils and touch off an emotional celebration in front of hundreds of spectators.
"I honestly didn't feel any pressure," Eaton said. "I've been in this situation so often that I was just focused on trying to get the ball to that corner. To me this is like taking a free throw in basketball."
She doesn't miss many of those either.
It was an unfortunate way for the competition to end for the Golden Eagles, who grew up a bit in front of the great home crowd. It continued to swell as spectators were drawn in from the next-door football game by the lively action.
The teams dueled toe-to-toe right from the opening whistle, and it took 25 minutes for Eaton to find the net the first time to break the deadlock.
It only took five to add to the tally however, as Kaisa Rosenberg took a feed from Megan Marchbanks on a breakaway down the left side and hit from a tough angle to the far post.
The score remained 2-0 to the break. After returning to the field, Maple Mountain pumped the pressure up a notch or two and kept working the ball forward to make some attempts on the net.
It finally paid off in the 66th minute. Hailey Gerrard, who did a terrific job controlling the ball all afternoon, sent it up to freshman forward Kennadee Tracy, who was able to shake her relentless pursuers just long enough to find the target.
As Springville had done in the first half, it was now Maple Mountain's turn to strike again quickly.
It happened six minutes later, following a terrific sequence of passes between Tracy and junior Baylee Nielsen, who dropped on her knees after scoring to beat the turf with her fists in her excitement.
By that point, the football game had ended and even many of the players came over to cheer for the home-town girls, who had the momentum on their side.
The intensity of an already-physical contest continued to build until Eaton's kick ended it.
"I'm not happy with the loss, but I'm thrilled with how the girls played," said Golden Eagles coach Carolyn Swenson. "This is a huge stepping-stone for us as a program and should give the girls some confidence that they can play with anyone."
Red Devil coach Ryan Swanson was still trying to figure out what happened. "Maple Mountain played a great game, but we also had a hard time getting the ball down on our shots tonight," he said of his team's numerous missed chances.
The Golden Eagles (10-4-0 overall, 6-2-0 region) travel to Uintah (2-10-1, 1-7-0), while the Red Devils (12-2-0, 8-0-0) host Payson (8-5-1, 5-3-0) Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.