Sandy • After a first-round stumble in the playoffs last year, Alta's girls soccer team has been looking forward to get back to the Class 5A final at Rio Tinto Stadium all season.

And in Tuesday's semifinal at Juan Diego High School against the Davis Darts, the Hawks looked like they were in a hurry to get there.

Alta didn't skip a beat against one of the state's best programs, winning handily in a 3-0 game. Davis was resilient, aggressive but also overmatched by the Hawks' penetrating offense and historically sound defense, which set a state record by earning its 17th shutout of the season.

Just in time for the biggest game of the year, Alta is playing its most dominant soccer yet.

"We've grown a lot together," midfielder Lexe Selman said. "I think we're showing that no matter what, we can do whatever we set our minds to."

From the outset, the Hawks were single-mindedly focused on dispatching the Region 1 champion Darts, who they last played in 2009 to win the last of their four straight championships. In the opening few minutes, Davis was on its heels, and Alta was practically moved in on the Darts' side of the field.

Davis defenders were draped around leading scorer Michele Murphy and allowed Selman to run free. In the 20th minute, Selman crept in by the far post of the goal, took a pass from Megan Lloyd and tapped it into the net before anyone knew she was there. Her second score minutes later required more effort: She knocked a ball from 20 yards out kicking across her body, and the shot sailed far over the head of Darts keeper Dani MacKay and into the goal.

Davis mounted a furious comeback attempt in the second half, putting Alta on the defensive much more. Forward Kenzie Harrison tore through again and again but could never quite get a quality shot on goalkeeper Elyssa Hashimoto.

Even the Darts pressing didn't stop the Hawks' counterattack. Murphy iced the game in the second half with a left-footed shot to the right corner — her 37th this year — giving Alta its 3-0 margin of victory.

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon —

Highlights

P Alta advances to Friday's 5A title game with 3-0 win over Davis.

• Midfielder Lexe Selman scores two first-half goals, and Michele Murphy scores a second-half goal.

• The Hawks' defense records its 17th shutout of the year to set a new state record.