After two months of heated regular-season games, it’s just about time for local boys soccer teams to battle it out on the field for the right to earn the top prize: a state championship. 

When it comes to competing in the playoffs, every time has a chance to regroup and refocus, which is what Bountiful, Viewmont and Woods Cross intend to do after up-and-down seasons. 

Bountiful

The Redhawks got through April with a 7-5 mark in Region 5, tied for third place. With two games to go at that point, the Redhawks had a chance to move up and improve their RPI ranking. Bountiful wrapped up the regular season May 3 at Clearfield and May 7 at home against Bonneville. Previously this season, the Redhawks blanked Clearfield 1-0 on April 9 and lost to Bonneville in a shootout April 12. 

Offense hasn’t been a problem this season for Bountiful. 

The Redhawks had 27 goals through the end of April, third in Region 5. In nine of the team’s first 12 games, it had at least two goals. The Redhawks posted three goals or more in a game four times, with a season-high of five goals in a three-point win at Northridge on March 19. Consequently, plenty of players have gotten on the scoreboard.

Nine Redhawks had goals in March and April, with Thomas Thorne’s six goals pacing the team. Elias Pacheco, Trent Millard and Cody Forbes each had four goals during this span. Sammy Serio had three. Thorne was also the leader in assists through 12 games, dishing out three. On defense, the Redhawks have had some strong outings and rough ones. Goalies Carter Watson and Nash McReynolds have shared duties, each getting 0.5 shutouts. 

Bountiful closed out April with a 2-1 win at Woods Cross on April 26, scoring a goal in each half. Pacheco and Parker Thompson did the honors, with Thorne and Forbes getting assists. On April 30, Bountiful came up short in a high-scoring game at home against Roy, falling 4-3. Forbes scored twice, and Mason Hamlet added a goal in defeat. 

The Class 5A state tournament gets underway May 10 with first-round games on the home fields of higher-seeded teams. 

Viewmont 

Viewmont sat in third place with Bountiful, sporting a 7-5 record, by the time April ended. But the Vikings are coming on strong. 

Prior to a 1-0 loss at Woods Cross on April 30, the Vikings had won three in a row and four out of five contests. Viewmont also beat Box Elder 2-1 at home on April 26, giving the first-place Bees a key loss. Both Viewmont goals came in the second half, with Jacob Ramos and Nathan Low scoring. Max Larsen had an assist. 

The Vikings had 21 goals in March and April. Six of those games in an explosive 6-2 win over Northridge on April 23, with four more coming in an earlier win over Northridge, a shutout on March 22. A total of seven Vikings scored in the first 12 games, but the headliner has been Ramos, who has put together a solid season. The junior midfielder had nine goals up to this point, tied for seventh in Class 5A. A trio of other players—Sam Vanderlinden, Nathan Pitt and Nathan Low—had three goals. Leading the way in assists through 12 games were Low and Zach Andersen with three each. Goalkeeper Brett Barbe had three shutouts. 

Viewmont is eager to play its best soccer when the state tournament starts on May 10. The Vikings are also aiming to reverse their fortunes of last season’s tournament where they lost in the first round at home to region foe Box Elder. 

Woods Cross

At 5-7, Woods Cross ended April in sixth place in Region 5. Had some close games gone their way, the Wildcats could be enjoying a higher position. 

Woods Cross had five losses by a single goal through the first 12 contests. The other defeat was a 2-0 setback at Roy on March 19 and a 3-0 loss at home to Bonneville on April 16. The final two games of April were both one-goal contests, one being a win and the other a loss. Woods Cross lost at home to Bountiful 2-1 on April 26. Zach Despain scored in the first half for Woods Cross. The Wildcats then shut out Viewmont at home 1-9 on April 30, with Despain this tie assisting, setting up a goal for Brian Randall. Brayden Lloyd got the shutout. 

Spencer Keddington scored four goals through the end of April to pace the Wildcats. Despain had three goals during this stretch, as did Cohen Neilson. Keddington and Randall had two assists to lead Viewmont in that category. 

To finish the regular season, Woods Cross traveled to Northridge on May 3 and hosted Box Elder on May 7. The Wildcats defeated Northridge in the teams’ first meeting, 3-1 on April 9. The Wildcats fell to Box Elder 1-0 on April 12. 

With the 5A state tournament starting May 10, Woods Cross hopes to get a first-round home game. This will depend on the team’s RPI ranking. Final rankings come out two days before the playoffs begin. Woods Cross didn’t participate in last season’s state tournament. In the 2022 tournament, the Wildcats lost in the first round to Northridge on the road. The last time Woods Cross won in the state tournament was in 2021 when it defeated Olympus 5-2 in the first round and then fell at Maple Mountain in the second round.