SYRACUSE — Abby Affleck tore her right ACL last year and has played this entire soccer season for Syracuse High with a large brace on her leg, both for security and support.

Having fully recovered in just seven months, Affleck bolstered the Titans on Thursday, scoring a brace in their girls 6A quarterfinal playoff match against Copper Hills.

Affleck had a goal in each half, which was more than enough for junior keeper Erin Bott, and the No. 4 Titans advanced to the semifinals with a 3-0 shutout of the No. 5 Grizzlies.

As a high seed, the Titans had two home games this week and made good use of their familiar surroundings.

“A good confidence booster for sure. The past couple of years, we’ve got knocked out in the first round so when we got through that, as a team we decided no matter what or who we played, we were going to give it our all,” Affleck said. “We did a really good job of everyone giving 100%, whether they play a full game or a few minutes. It was a great team effort.”

Syracuse (16-3) came out on fire, and Affleck had a good shot on goal in the first 30 seconds that was wide and buried in the side of the net.

“We were ready today. Ready to come out and hit some shots,” Affleck said.

The Titans broke the ice in the eighth minute, leading 1-0, when Affleck took aim from a tight left angle and put it in the corner.

That score stood up until the half, even though the Titans had many other opportunities that missed the mark.

“At halftime, coach (Jason Steiner) said keep shooting because we should have had two or three more goals,” Affleck said. “I probably should have had two more in the first half, so I committed to play better in the second half.”

Taking an aggressive approach after the break, Affleck nearly got a yellow card, then put the Titans up 2-0 with a kick from 25 yards out in the 55th minute.

“I got a little riled up and fouled a girl; I was a little hot-headed, so when I got the ball, I figured I’m going to kick it as hard as I could and it worked,” Affleck said.

Copper Hills (15-5) then switched strategies, but Syracuse was ready for the change.

“They took a defender and moved them up, so they had three back. We shifted and went into a 4-5-1 so we could protect the middle more. Sat back and tried to play defense,” Affleck added.

Bott benefitted from the adjustment and was thrilled to record the clean sheet for the Titans, with the help of her teammates.

“Our defense is so amazing. We know what each other is doing, so we can cover for one another. We talk really good and pass off people,” Bott said. “A shutout is so fun. I’ve had a couple, but not this big of one. This is awesome.”

Sophomore Sophie Martin scored an insurance goal in the 73rd minute for the Titans’ final 3-0 margin.

Syracuse now has a semifinal match against the winner of No. 1 Lone Peak and No. 8 Lehi, which takes place at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, at Zions Bank Stadium.

Affleck is a senior and has a scholarship to Utah, but isn’t ready to call it a high school career just yet.

“I want two more games,” she said.

DAVIS 2, CORNER CANYON 1 (2OT)

KAYSVILLE — Brooklyn Phongsavath assisted two Packers on Thursday, the second for a Cadence Packer goal in the 92nd minute to push No. 3 Davis into the 6A state semifinals.

Phongsavath connected with Simone Packer in the 34th minute and Davis (16-3) held the lead until the home stretch when Corner Canyon (13-6) scored in the 78th minute. The teams played into the second period of extra time before the winner.

Davis will play at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, at Zions Bank Stadium against No. 2 Mountain Ridge (16-1).

SCORES, NO STATS REPORTED

Maple Mtn 1 def. Northridge 1 (4-2 PKs, 5A quarterfinals)

Olympus 3, Clearfield 0 (5A quarterfinals)

Brett Hein and Justin B. Johnson contributed to score reports.