In his 10th season as head coach, Scott returns much of the talented corps that brought a boys soccer state championship through school halls for the first time since 2005. The Tigers grew the first step closer to repeating that history on Monday, shutting out Stansbury 2-0 at home.

Spring sports season, and the inimical weather inevitably brought with it, doesn’t offer many teams lengthy preparation before activities return in early March. Scott and the Tigers have only met for two full-length practices so far this season.

The time Ogden spends outside traditional practices becomes especially precious, senior midfielder Luis Velasco said. Velasco, assisted by junior Harrison Hoskins, netted the first of two first-half goals during the Tigers’ win on Monday.

“Every game we treat like a state final,” Velasco said. “Every player has their own talent, it doesn’t matter whether they’re freshmen, sophomores, (or) juniors. Everyone has their own talent. I feel like once we lift each other up, there’s no going back.

“Once we lift each other up, it feels like we’ve been playing for years even though it’s only been a couple of months. The connection there is unbelievable.”

Friday, Ogden welcomes in Davis for another non-region test that’ll test just how much Scott’s group can prepare three days removed from their season opener. Davis hung 13 goals on Viewmont, going on to win 13-1, in its home opener Monday.

Scott, currently 89-34 in his career at Ogden, said it’s a matter of sharpening the fundamentals and giving his guys breathing room to trust each other on the pitch.

“We just have to work on the little mistakes and build on that,” Scott said.

The opportunity to prove themselves against an area 6A opponent early into the schedule has Velasco and his teammates’ full attention.

“Everyone’s excited to play (Davis),” Velasco said. “But no team’s no better than another. So it’s just one by one, we’ll take ’em all.”

Five seniors, including former captains Lincoln Barnes and Ben Points, are removed from last spring’s title finish. But the existing depth within Ogden’s current build has Scott enthusiastic about the season’s ceiling given the names he’s retained and trained for as long as three years.

Among those returning contributors are two-way attacker Jace Rodriguez, who led the Tigers with 1.3 goals per match, and starting goalkeeper Xavier Peregrina, who averaged 7.1 saves per match in 2024. Rodriguez assisted Ogden’s final goal, scored by Adam Jenks, on Monday.

Ogden’s underclassmen, carrying over deep minutes from 2024, are undoubtedly part of Scott’s postseason aspirations. Sixteen returning seniors are each involved in keeping those fledging, young talents grounded, he said.

“I’m very fortunate to have them for a fourth year, many of these seniors,” Scott said. “To build that chemistry and trust in turn, they’ve got a brotherly pact and that’s going to take us to May.”

Connect with sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.