High school boys soccer: East overcomes weather obstacles and earns Region 6 crown

SALT LAKE CITY – The East High boys soccer team put any feelings of pressure behind it Friday afternoon as it took on Brighton in a match to decide the Region 6 title.

There were other obstacles, after all. As the teams took the field for the 3:30 p.m. start, a snowstorm blew in over the field and, while there might have been blue sky nearby, the Leopards’ artificial turf field was covered in a white blanket and every player shuddered in the 30-degree temperature.

A halftime pep talk from coach Javier Viana seemed to make the difference, though, and the Leopards took advantage of goals from Khristian Bombeck and Jorge Beltran over a six-minute span to claim a 3-1 win to earn sole possession of first place and go into the 5A state tournament on a high note.

“We were picked sixth (at the start of the season),” said Viana. “I guess (the other region coaches) didn’t know what we had. We have fabulous players and now it’s no longer a secret.”

A loss would have likely put East into a first-place tie with Alta. Brighton had third place reserved, even though the Bengals downed the Leopards 3-1 earlier this season.

Next, the teams await the revealing of the RPI rankings, which will be released Wednesday at 10 a.m., and then the state tournament pairings will be announced.

East’s senior-laden squad came into Friday’s match ranked No. 3 among all 5A schools, and Brighton was ranked fourth. Since the top eight teams earn a first-round bye, both teams are probably safe from playing in the opening round Friday and are guaranteed a home match in second-round action May 14.

“We just sit and wait,” said Viana. “This region is a tough region and prepared us really well for state. We all know each other from playing club ball, so we know what we all can do. (Top-seeded) Wasatch will be tough, but there are a lot of good teams and, in tournament play, the best team always needs a little bit of luck.”

East appears to already be creating its own luck. Since the Leopards lost at Brighton 3-2 back on April 12, they have won six straight games by a combined score of 22-4.

Brighton coach Brett Rosen was happy when his team jumped on East early in its last match. He claimed that was the key to winning Tuesday’s game and the Bengals started well on a goal midway through the first half by Vincent Huff.

But East’s Manuel Enriquez retaliated a few minutes later, and Brighton never got another quality shot on goal.

In the second half, the Leopards also benefited from the strong north wind. Bombeck’s score came less than two minutes after intermission and Beltran added an insurance score with 34:43 left.

“We stopped playing for six minutes,” said Rosen. “You can’t do that in any game, but especially against a team as good as East.”