Playoffs began for the 2A and 3A state championship tournaments in boys soccer last week. Here’s where each team stands so far with the second round beginning this Wednesday—
GUNNISON VALLEY
GUNNISON—The Gunnison Valley Bulldogs bear the burden of high expectations after finishing 14-1 in the regular season and earning the No. 2 overall seed in the 2A state tournament.
Gunnison wrapped up their regular season with a 2-0 win over rival North Sevier, sealing their undefeated season in region play. Their only loss of the year is to Juab, the No. 3 seed in the 3A tournament.
Ironically enough, the Bulldogs earned a bye in the first round of play, and thanks to a 2-0 decision over South Sevier on the other end of the bracket, they’ll be rematching with No. 15 North Sevier for the second round of play this Wednesday on their home field.
Until they make the semifinals, Gunnison’s potential opponents are exclusively teams they have played before, with their quarterfinal opponent being either Parowan or Millard. Either turnout will be a home playoff match on Saturday as long as the Bulldogs get past the Wolves.
MANTI
MANTI—The Manti Templars earned the No. 7 seed in the 3A state tournament and will be skipping the first round.
Manti capped off an 11-5 regular season last week with a phenomenal signature win over region champ Juab, 2-1, in double overtime last Tuesday. This win gave Juab, the No. 3 team in the playoffs, their only region loss and cemented the Templars as the second-place team in Region 14.
The Templars’ first game of the tournament will be against Canyon View this Wednesday at home. The Falcons played Manti earlier this season and squeaked by with a win over the Templars in a shootout victory, the only loss for Manti since March 25.
Barring a tremendous upset by Summit Academy, the Templars’ likely next opponent will be No. 2 Real Salt Lake Academy on Saturday on the road.
NORTH SANPETE
GRANTSVILLE—After a first-round loss last Friday, the North Sanpete Hawks are calling it a season.
The Hawks earned the No. 19 seed in the tournament, earning them a first-round matchup on the road against No. 14 Grantsville last Friday. Grantsville convincingly beat North Sanpete, 4-0, to move on to the second round to play No. 3 Juab this Wednesday.
They ended their regular season the Tuesday prior with a 3-2 loss to Richfield at home. The Hawks finished their regular season with an overall record of 4-12 with a 3-5 finish in Region 14 for fourth place.
North Sanpete graduates seven seniors from their program this spring: Jesus Tapia, Marcos Cisneros, Jaxton Reyes, Dante Lowe, Edward Lara, Alexis Tapia and Daniel Ortiz.
WASATCH ACADEMY
MT. PLEASANT—The Wasatch Academy Tigers fought their way through the first round and are still in the hunt for a 2A title.
The Tigers earned the No. 12 seed in the 2A state tournament after finishing the regular season with a 7-6 record, capped by a non-region blowout loss, 9-1, to 3A’s No. 1 team, Maeser Prep, last Monday. They then opened the playoffs with a first-round matchup against No. 21 Telos, crushing them 14-4 at home last Friday. They led 11-0 at halftime.
Wasatch Academy will be on the road against No. 5 APA-Draper this Wednesday. If they manage the upset, they’ll face either No. 4 American Heritage or No. 13 Freedom Prep on Saturday.
