The third time was the charm for the Bountiful girls soccer team. And what a charm it was!

The Redhawks defeated Olympus 2-1 on Oct. 24 to capture the Class 5A state championship. Bountiful might not have won Region 6, but it won the bigger prize—over a familiar and pesky opponent.

Olympus beat Bountiful in both regular-season meetings on its way to the Region 6 crown. Olympus won 4-2 on Aug. 21 and 5-2 on Sept. 15. Both Olympus wins were convincing, but that didn’t seem to scare off the Redhawks in the title match, held at America First Field in Sandy.

Even a halftime deficit didn’t deter Bountiful.

Down 1-0 at the break, Bountiful got goals from Belle Sorensen and Myka Page, who assisted on one another’s goals. The defense, led by a stout backline and goalkeeper Chloe Bryson, kept Olympus out of the net in the second half. It was only the sixth time in 20 games that Olympus was held under two goals.

Bountiful captured its fifth state title in school history but its first since 2006.

“Winning a state title is the ultimate goal at the beginning of the season for every team, yet only one team gets to stake claim to being the state champion,” head coach Kris Hamlet said. “When it finally happened, it was a very surreal feeling that was filled with excitement, pride and accomplishment. The girls love each other and were so happy to go on this journey together and to forever be known as members of the 2025 Bountiful High School girls state championship team.”

Bountiful finished the season 14-5 overall. The Redhawks were second to Olympus in Region 6, going 10-2 in league games. In the state tournament, Bountiful went 4-0, defeating Maple Mountain 3-1 in the second round, blanking Region 4 champion and top seed Kearns 6-0 in the quarterfinals and edging Springville 3-2 in the semifinals before getting to the finals.

Not bad for the eighth-seeded team.

The title was significant for the players, Hamlet said. Impressively, the Redhawks overcame a slow start to the season and never let setbacks get them down.

“Winning this state title was especially sweet for this group of girls,” she said. “In 2022, we made it to the state championship game and lost in penalty kicks. In 2023, we made it to the state championship game and once again lost in penalty kicks. In 2024, we made it to the semifinals and lost to eventual state champion Olympus. For the seniors and the rest of the team to finally be able to win the championship was truly rewarding for them. We started out the season with four straight losses before winning 14 of our last 15 games on the way to the title. We kept reminding the girls at the start of the season that it is not about how we start, but more importantly how we finish. To go from 0-4 to state champions is truly a testament to the character of these girls, their hard work and their talent.  This accomplishment will definitely provide momentum for next season and beyond.”

The championship game was a testament to the girls resilience and effort. The Redhawks faced a higher-ranked foe that had already beaten them twice, and they were behind halfway through the game. But no one on Bountiful’s side gave up or lost the confidence that they could prevail. 

“In the championship game, we struggled to produce much offense in the first half, but the defense kept us in the game, despite Olympus scoring a great goal on a free kick from distance,” Hamlet said. “At halftime, we made some adjustments with our formation and relied on our defense to shut Olympus out in the second half while riding our offensive stars, Belle Sorensen and Myka Page. Our effort in the second half was top-notch and ultimately led Bountiful to the state title.”

Hamlet said she and her players were eager to get another opportunity to play Olympus after having lost to them both times in the regular season and in last year’s playoffs.

“Going into the playoffs, we were very interested to see where we lined up in the playoff bracket compared to Olympus because we really wanted another shot at them,” she said. “We felt like we had some really bad moments of soccer in the two games we played during region, and it ultimately cost us the region title. We were really excited at the opportunity to possibly play them in the state championship game and to redeem not only our two losses this season, but also the state semifinal game from last year. Our girls were extremely excited to get to the state final at America First Field, and it made it especially gratifying to win the championship by beating Olympus.”

Bountiful had no shortage of contributors this season. Leading the way was Sorensen, one of the state’s top scorers. The senior star scored 25 goals and had 11 assists, leading the team in both categories. Page, a junior, was second in both goals (15) and assists (10). Sophomore Jane Hellewell had eight assists.

The Redhawks have some key players to replace in 2026, but Hamlet believes her squad will be tough again next season.

“We are still enjoying every minute of this season and the success that was experienced by this group of girls, but we are also excited about the prospects for another exciting season next year,” she said. “We will lose 12 seniors, and we know we will have a lot of teams gunning for us. But we will return a lot of talented players who will definitely want to make a run at the opportunity to return to the championship game.”