Photos by Pete Haraguchi

Article by Nate Church 

The Salt Lake Shred are back at their home pitch to kick off their fifth season in the UFA. In their first matchup of the season the Shred took down West Division foe the Oregon Steel.

As the sun set at Zion’s Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah, home of the Salt Lake Shred, fans filled the stadium seats. The home crowd was not only celebrating the beginning of another season of competition, but the start of the fifth season of the Salt Lake Shred.

After going 11-1 in the regular season last year but failing to make it to the championship game, the Shred were looking to start off strong. And that they did.

Coach Bryce Merrill shared his pregame message to the team where he emphasized “keeping it simple and going through the fundamentals.”

That emphasis on executing the fundamentals was clear from the start. It didn’t take long for the Shred to get to the endzone, a foreshadowing of their offensive dominance through the first quarter of play. Running seamlessly down the field, the Shred scored 31 seconds into the match.

Six players got a piece of the pie but it was Ben Ashton who got into the endzone twice. His hot start in the first quarter carried throughout the entire game. Ashton led the team with six total goals in the win over the Steel.

“I loved how we came together as a team and were able to run our offense. There were some highlight plays, but the real highlight was how we ran our Shred system,” said Ashton.

The offensive dominance continued into the second quarter, but soon the Oregon Steel found its rhythm. Ending the first quarter of play with just two goals, the Steel came out strong in the second. Scoring on their first drive, they soon added six more, ending the half with seven.

“They made some nice adjustments and played well in isolation,” said head coach Merrill, “but I think the guys responded well and that’s something you want to take away from game one.”

Both teams ended the third quarter scoring five times each, however the Steel’s potential comeback was snuffed out in the fourth quarter, when the Shred ended the game on a 5-2 scoring run. The Salt Lake Shred walked away with a 23-14 win over the Oregon Steel, but for Jordan Kerr it went far beyond winning the game.

During the first half Jordan Kerr scored his first goal of the season, but instead of celebrating with his teammates, he ran into the stands and handed someone the disc. “That was my mom,” Kerr explained, “my grandma passed away this week, so that [first goal] was for her.”

With a tribute to his grandmother motivating Kerr and a strong win to start the season motivating the team, the Shred could be back in business as a dominant force in the UFA this season.

The team will fly out to Oakland, California to face-off against the Oakland Spiders tonight.