To say the least, 2007 was an adventure for Brighton's boys soccer team.
With a heavy senior class, glittered with star players, the Bengals advanced to the state final in 2006. For that team, the question was, how far would they go?
One year later, coach Russ Boyer and Co. faced several different challenges. Talented but young, they struggled to get results during the first month of the season and fell amazingly to last place in Region 2 after a loss at Hillcrest.
But the Bengals didn't fold. They rebounded after the defeat and turned in some excellent soccer to close the season.
Brighton finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak to capture yet another Region 2 championship before narrowly falling 1-0 to Mountain View in the 5A quarterfinals.
All in all, 2007 proved to be a successful, albeit different, season for Brighton.
"It was rewarding to come from last place in the region to first place," said Boyer. "That was a fun turnaround, to see the shift in attitude and commitment from the team."
Brighton actually played quite well throughout its preseason but didn't get many results.
Early on, that theme spilled over to Region 2 play.
The Bengals dominated Jordan in their league-opener, only to lose 2-1 when Jordan scored twice in the final 11 minutes. Following a 1-1 draw with Alta a week later, Brighton surprisingly lost at Hillcrest, which dropped the Bengals into last place.
It wasn't necessarily the fact that it lost to Hillcrest that bothered Boyer and assistant Harold Foerster. After all, the Huskies also notched wins over Jordan and Alta in 2007. Rather, it was Brighton's poor performance in that game that frustrated the coaching staff.
Boyer sat down with his team the following week, and the players collectively responded to get their season back on track.
Brighton's senior class led the turnaround. Stopper Adam Bullough, Clayton Alexander, Justin Latimer and others provided leadership, in addition to their quality play on the field.
"Everybody else kind of followed behind them," said Boyer.
Brighton's season came to a close in the second round of the playoffs. Brighton played extremely well against Mountain View, but it couldn't put the ball in the net. Mountain View goalie Mike Chesler was outstanding in goal, and the Bruins emerged with a 1-0 win.
"It never came, but it wasn't for lack of effort," Boyer said of Brighton's failure to punch through.
Brighton loses eight seniors, many of whom were significant varsity contributors. But lots of talent returns, and expectations will be — as they always are — sky high at Brighton High.
Expect the Bengals' lineup next season to be built around two outstanding midfielders.
Travis Barton and Mike Nielsen emerged as a formidable duo in the center of midfield, and they have the potential to form one of the state's best midfield partnerships in 2008.
And those two should be joined by a number of others.
"We're already excited for next year," said Boyer.
Brighton boys soccer
Overall: 11-5-2
League: 7-2-1, first in Region 2
State: Lost in 5A quarterfinals
Season results
March 9 — Bountiful 3, Brighton 2
March 13 — Brighton 0, Layton 0
March 16 — Brighton 2, Viewmont 1
March 20 — Bingham 1, Brighton 0
March 27 — Brighton 2, Mountain View 1
April 3 — Jordan 2, Brighton 1
April 11 — Alta 1, Brighton 1 (2OT)
April 13 — Hillcrest 1, Brighton 0
April 17 — Brighton 3, Taylorsville 0
April 20 — Brighton 2, Skyline 0
April 21 — Brighton 2, Juan Diego 1
April 24 — Brighton 1, Jordan 0 WIN
April 27 — Brighton 1, Alta 0
May 1 — Brighton 3, Hillcrest 2 WIN
May 4 — Brighton 5, Taylorsville 3
May 8 — Brighton 1, Skyline 0 (2OT)
5A first round
May 15 — Brighton 2, Viewmont 1 (OT)
5A quarterfinal
May 18 — Mountain View 1, Brighton 0
E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com