Maple Mountain girls soccer loses to Brighton in 5A semifinals | News, Sports, Jobs

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Maple Mountain senior Lizzy Johnston jumps to knock down the ball during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain players watch the final minutes of the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain freshman Haidyn Denton, 61, takes a header during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain senior Sierra Jacobson carries the ball down the field during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain junior keeper Anya Gulley kicks the ball during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain junior Allie Vance shoots a header during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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A Maple Mountain player takes a free kick during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain junior Allie Vance dribbles the ball across the field during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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A Maple Mountain player kicks the ball during a 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain senior Anna McMaster kicks the ball during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain senior Sierra Jacobson (left) competes for the ball during the 5A semifinal game against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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After winning the 5A state championship in 2023, the Maple Mountain girls soccer team was out to defend its crown, but got off to a rough start.

The Golden Eagles competed well, but as of the 15th day of the 2024 tournament, they were 1-5, losing 14-6.

How Maple Mountain deals with early season struggles will ultimately determine the season.

“We lost every non-district game before the game even started,” Golden Eagle head coach Cliff Swain said. “Then we just started putting it together. There were a lot of close games, but we fought. We started working together as a team instead of individuals, and that made a big difference. We couldn’t score. Even when we weren’t playing, everyone was playing hard, which kept us from conceding any goals.”

Considering how it started, Maple Mountain’s 13-game winning streak and 5A semifinal appearance was a huge success.

“I’m so proud of them,” Swain said. “We went undefeated in district play and made it to the semifinals. We have a good team, seniors, juniors, sophomores, freshmen, everyone played together and worked together to get us here. I was very satisfied.”

However, the Golden Eagles were not satisfied with just reaching the semifinals. They wanted to try a repeat.

But standing in front of them was a talented Brighton side looking for a place in the title game.

Both the Bengals and Maple Mountain fought hard and created chances, but Brighton scored one goal and held on for a 1-0 victory, ending the Golden Eagles’ season.

“We dug deep and played hard,” Swain said. “We were going back and forth. The girls did a really good job adjusting and moving. They weren’t giving us good looks and we got them. They scored one goal on a corner kick, but in the playoffs they were settled a lot on set pieces. They did a good job with that, but we didn’t. I couldn’t understand it.”

The lone goal came in the 55th minute on a corner for the Bengals, where senior Emry Stott took a shot just inside the near post and through his body and into the goal.

The Golden Eagles had their best chance of the game in the 68th minute in their own corner, but third-year Allie Vance’s header went over the crossbar and was cleared by Brighton.

This was one of the few chances Maple Mountain was able to create, but the Bengal defense made it difficult.

“We missed some runners today,” Swain said. “We missed passes that we normally make. It was a big game and we got too excited at times. We finally started to get it towards the end, but we just couldn’t get it where we needed it. I couldn’t.”

Swain said the Golden Eagles will graduate nine seniors, but Maple Mountain will have some talented underclassmen returning.

“We need our players to step up and fill some roles,” Swain said. “We have a lot of young guys who played in positions that could get them more minutes by the end. It was fun to see that.”

Brighton will play Olympus in the 5A state championship at 11 a.m. Friday at America First Field in Sandy.

That’s where Maple Mountain wanted to be, but the Golden Eagles can look back to 2024 with pride.

“They fought for everything,” Swain said. “They played with heart and soul. It was a fun season.”