Boys soccer playoffs: Unbeaten Ogden earns top seed in 3A field; BL, Morgan earn first-round byes
Tigers produce first undefeated regular season in school history
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- Ogden’s Luis Velasco (15) kicks the ball as Ben Lomond’s Amir Odeh (6) challenges on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at Ogden High School.
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- Ogden boys soccer coach Todd Scott meets with his team following a 2-0 win over Stansbury during a nonregion match on Monday, March 3, 2025, at the Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex, in Ogden.
OGDEN — A handful of accolades follow Region 13 and defending Utah 3A champion Ogden High into the 3A boys soccer championship, as the No. 1 seed Tigers waltz into the postseason with a first-round bye on the heels of the program’s first-ever undefeated regular season.
The winner of No. 16 Providence Hall (3-10) and No. 17 Emery (1-16) meets Ogden in a second-round match at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 30. All second-round matches are played at home sites.
“We have one goal in mind,” Ogden coach Todd Street said. “We kind of have an attitude where every game is state and they’re able to keep focused and be disciplined on that.”
Region runner-ups in No. 5 Ben Lomond (8-4, 7-3) and No. 6 Morgan (9-8, 7-3) also received first-round byes in the state tournament field. The Scots host No. 12 Juan Diego (6-10); the Trojans meet No. 11 South Summit (6-10) in second-round matches on April 30.
Ogden won both series with BL and Morgan but not without each program taking the Tigers to the wire in at least one match. The Scots narrowly dropped their March 31 meeting with the Tigers 1-0 and the Trojans took Ogden to overtime in a 2-1 loss.
Street considers his Tigers, BL and Morgan the best 3A can offer. With a perfect 10-0 finish in region play, Ogden will hang its first region banner since 2022.
“I don’t want to talk (badly) about anybody else’s region but that’s in my opinion,” Street said. “Year in, year out, it’s always been us and Morgan and I think Ben Lomond’s always been that dark horse that comes in and I think they’re going to do it this year.”
Six goals allowed in 14 matches ties Ogden for fourth-fewest ever with LCA (2019), Viewmont (2019), and Wasatch (2012). Junior goalkeeper Xavier Peregrina logged his ninth shutout for the Tigers last week during Friday’s 3-0 season-finale win at Morgan.
Ogden posted region-leaders in junior forward Jace Rodriguez (16 goals) and senior midfielder Luis Velasco (16 assists). Senior midfielder Gerardo Esquivel padded the book with another 14 goals and nine assists during the regular season.
Street and the Tigers have also looked to multiple underclassmen — sophomore forward Ty Ward, sophomore defender Jaydon Bartletti and Seth Larberger — to mitigate numerous injuries within the varsity roster. One particular case saw junior Adam Jenks transition from forward to centerback to relieve Ogden’s defense.
“I’ve never been riddled with so many injuries in one season,” Street said. “It was tough at first knowing some were career-ending injuries. My younger ones, especially my freshmen and sophomores, just stepped up, and they’ve done a phenomenal job. … Now you can’t even tell that they’re freshmen or sophomores; they seem like veterans.”
The Tigers entered last week’s season finale with the mission in hand, Street said.
“The first time, that was a state championship game — hard, physical overtime,” Street said. “Our boys knew our last game was going to be at Morgan, on their grass pitch, on their senior night and going in there knowing ‘Hey, we can end the regular season undefeated,’ they were locked in. You could’ve heard a pin drop during warmups.”
In the 2A boys soccer championship, No. 4 St. Joseph (7-4) received a first-round bye and meets the winner of No. 13 Draper APA (3-8) and No. 20 Millard (3-12) in a second-round home-site match on April 30. No. 15 Utah Military Academy-Hill Field meets No. 18 Parowan (3-12) in a first-round home-site match on April 25.
The 3A and 2A brackets share dates on the schedule as follows: after the second round, the quarterfinals will be played at home sites on Saturday, May 3.
The semifinals are set for Thursday, May 8, at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman (3A in the morning, 2A in the afternoon). Championship finals are scheduled for Saturday, May 10, at America First Field in Sandy with 3A at 11 a.m. and 2A at 2 p.m.
Find complete state tournament brackets at uhsaa.org/tournaments.
3A PLAYOFF
Second round (April 30)
No. 1 Ogden (14-0) vs. No. 16 Providence Hall (3-10)/No. 17 Emery (1-16)
No. 5 Ben Lomond (8-4) vs. No. 12 Providence Hall (6-10)
No. 6 Morgan (9-8) vs. No. 11 South Summit (6-10)
2A PLAYOFF
First round (April 25)
No. 15 Utah Military Academy-Hill Field (6-8) vs. No. 18 Parowan (3-12)
Second round (April 30)
No. 4 St. Joseph (7-4) vs. No. 13 Draper APA (3-8)/No. 20 Millard (3-12)
Connect with sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
