It was a familiar soccer battle between the Uintah Lady Utes and the Lady Cats of Union as their annual grudge match got under way Aug. 24.

Over the course of both periods, the girls from Union fought hard to gain ground against the Lady Utes — but it was not to be as the Uintah team thoroughly routed the Lady Cats at home, 6-3.

The big stories of the game were the offensive drive of junior forward Melissa Hansen, combined with the stout defense of senior Kinsey Lance. Their combination of aggressive scoring and defense of the home team goal held Union to 12 shots-at-goal, for three scores, while the Utes brought home six goals with 49 shots-at-goal.

The Utes came out in the first minutes of play with significant offense from Hansen, senior Amberly Rich, and sophomores Rachel Wright and Hailey Bunderson. The offense showed good spacing and speed in the opening drive, leading up to a quick first goal by Hansen with 35:40 remaining in the opening period — the first of four goals she would have on the day.

After Lady Ute Madeline Orr managed to make a dazzling steal from Lady Cat Lauren Jenkins, a strong offensive push by Wright and Hansen led to five shots-at-goal in a row. The Union defense stepped up, however, and kept it from being an absolute blowout.

Union was not to be denied — or dealt a blowout by Uintah.

Lady Cat Brianna Southam kept it respectable by evading Orr in Ute territory, sending a driving goal home with 26:09 left in the period and making it 2-1 in favor of Uintah.

Not to be corralled by the Lady Cat defense, Hansen scored her second goal with 24:20 remaining, on a throw-in by sophomore Katie Henderson. That goal put the Lady Utes up 2-1.

“We worked hard today to get this win. We were faster than them and moved as a team. I was able to get those points by pushing past them. They were slow and we won because of our speed and teamwork,” said Hansen.

The girls next rallied behind sophomore Hailey Bunderson for another quick Uintah goal, making the score 3-1 in favor of the Lady Utes. Picking up an assist from sophomore Caitlyn Beddes, Bunderson pushed hard on a drive from midfield to the goal of Union with 16:23 remaining in the period.

The Lady Utes earned their next point off another fierce kick by Hansen with 2:20 to go in the first half of the game. Hansen made the score with a serious assist by Henderson, squaring away the score at 4-1.

The second period began with the Utes still dominating on possession time and shots-at-goal. Massive play by sophomores Rachel Wright and Kennedy Chivers saw the momentum continue in favor of Uintah.

Feeling the pressure, the defense of Union stepped their aggressive play, with Union player Madeline Ivie making a serious hit on Uintah’s Henderson. No card was called on the hit and play continued, however, with the Utes pushing back hard as well.

The momentum for Uintah carried forward, with 33:45 remaining, to another goal for the Utes — this time by Wright.

A quick defensive hold and turn-around by the Ute offense brought Hansen back to the net just two minutes later for a score, making it 6-1 in favor of the ladies from Vernal.

The Lady Cats were able to put more emphasis on their play in the second period by spreading out their offense and attacking at the goal.

Even with a huge defensive effort by Rich, Orr and Wright, the Utes were unable to stop a 50-yard drive to the goal by Lady Cat Lauren Jenkins. The goal by Jenkins, with 29:01 left, made it a little more competitive at 6-2.

Lady Cat Jessica Willard then took it back to the goal against Uintah just a few minutes later, with 10:40 remaining, to make the score 6-3 in favor of the Utes.

Willard’s goal was not enough, however, to overcome the dramatic offensive push — and defensive hold — of the Lady Utes. When time expired, the girls from Uintah found themselves the victors over their nearest competitors.

“Our spacing and speed were good today. The level of athleticism the girls showed was great. They really worked as a team and Melissa Hansen was all over the offense today. She is a tremendous offensive player and she came through when we needed her,” said assistant coach Daren Kelly.

Uintah’s next match will start at 4 p.m. Thursday against Springville at Uintah High School.