High school boys soccer: Alta escapes 5A second round with overtime win over Olympus
Alta had no issues against Olympus in either of the teams’ Region 6 matches earlier this season, with the Hawks winning 3-1 and 2-0.
That said, the Hawks knew anything could happen in their third meeting with the Titans on Tuesday in the second round of the 5A playoffs.
The game stayed at a stalemate 0-0 to the end of regulation, but Alta snuck out of the second round of the state tournament with a 1-0 overtime win.
“We’ve played Olympus twice in region and they’re an amazing team,” said Alta head coach Mackenzie Hyer. “(Olympus) is well coached, they have great players so we knew the playoffs would be different. It’s hard to beat a team three times in a row, and in the playoffs, it can come down to a golden goal.”
Despite the even score, Alta dominated possession of the ball throughout most of the first half. The Hawks’ defense recovered quick on Olympus’ attacks, but the Atla offense came up short in all its shots on goal.
The second half was much of the same story, but this time the Titans began to gain some momentum. While it never broke through with a goal, Olympus managed to retain possession more and had a few chances at scoring.
However, each Titan attack was stopped by the Alta defense, including keeper Thiago Moreira, who recorded the second-round shutout.
At the end of 80 minutes neither team was able to break the 0-0 tie, pushing the game into overtime. In between regulation and overtime, Hyer stressed the importance of staying calm.
“We talked about how it is golden goal, and it just takes one moment to change the game,” said Hyer. “We were playing well, possessing, we had opportunities, but it was a defensive battle.
“I just told them, ‘If we continue to do things right then that moment you’ve been preparing for will come.’”
The Hawks didn’t have to wait long for the golden moment to come.
Midway through the overtime period Olympus was called for a penalty. Alta’s shot was deflected by a Titan defender and the Hawks got a second chance with a corner kick.
Alta took advantage as JT Orr passed it directly to an open Logan Kunz, who redirected the ball into the net for the golden goal and the 1-0 second round win.
“We knew we just had to keep going at them. We knew that we had a lot of chances, but we just needed to keep going until we finished,” Kunz said.
“The pass came flying in and I just wanted it more than they did, and after it happened it felt amazing. It’s a great feeling, but we just got to move on to the next one.”
The Alta offense had waited the entire game for one of its chances to break through and it stayed patient until it finally did. Hyer said Alta’s patience was imperative in the win.
“For our team, we talked about it’s the little things that add up that you do over and over again which creates opportunities,” Hyer said. “It’s about staying calm, composed and playing our game.
“They’ve been doing the work all season long and it showed in their ability to play in that overtime period as strong as they played the opening minute.”
Alta advances to the 5A quarterfinals, where it will face No. 5 Hunter on Friday.
