DRAPER — Through the opening three rounds of the 5A state girls soccer tournament, there was no bigger story than the Mountain View Bruins.
The No. 16 seeded Bruins, the fourth place team in Region 7, defeated Viewmont in the first round, then upset the No. 1 overall seed, Farmington, in the second round.
After that, Mountain View took down No. 9 Murray — runner-up in 2018 — in the quarterfinals.
The Cinderella story came to an end Tuesday afternoon at Juan Diego Catholic High School.
No. 5 Skyline defeated Mountain View 3-1 in the first of two state semifinal games.
Zoe Garver, Lilly Kimball and Ella Kortbawi each netted goals for the Eagles, while Jenny Goodman scored the lone Mountain View goal.
The victory was storybook in itself for Skyline, as it propelled the Eagles to their first state title game since 2015.
That year, Skyline defeated Timpanogos 3-1 in the 4A state championship game.
In the years since, though, the Eagles fell short of the state title game over and over and over again, including setbacks in the semifinals the past two seasons.
“We have been here (the semifinals) two of the last three years and we got a weeping,” Skyline head coach Yamil Castillo said. “My girls remember.”
- Watch replay: Skyline 3, Mountain View 1
It showed, as the Eagles rallied from an early deficit to pull out the win.
After Goodman put Mountain View on top midway through the first half, the Eagles scored three unanswered goals.
Garver netted the first score, in the 33rd minute, while the goals by Kimball and Kortbawi came in the second half.
“They stayed focused and confident. They knew we have a team to win,” Castillo said. “We had a couple games this year where we came back (from deficits) and the kids trust each other and support each other.”
No one arguably was more of a support to her teammates than Skyline sophomore Ali Swensen.
The Eagles’ leading scorer this season, Swensen set up both Kimball and Kortbawi on their goals, in one way or another.
“She is only a sophomore and she is our leading scorer. An amazing talent with amazing speed,” said Castillo. “She can shoot and she is a playmaker. It is not about her. It is about who is in the best possible situation to score. She makes good decisions and knows where to go with the ball.”
While the focus deservedly went to the Eagles’ goal scorers, the Skyline defense was just as impactful.
“One of our strengths is our defense,” Castillo said. “We made a mistake and they got a goal out of it, but the girls knew what to do.”
“When they made mistakes, we were on every one and punished them for it,” said Swensen.
As a result, Skyline will at long last play for another state championship.
“This is a chance, an opportunity for us,” Swensen said. “No one (on this team) has made it to the finals. I think we have a pretty good chance to win.”
The Eagles will face the No. 6 seeded Bonneville Lakers in the 5A state championship game, Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The Lakers defeated the No. 7 Maple Mountain Golden Eagles 2-1 in overtime Tuesday night.
Sophomore Gabby Carlson netted the game-winner, when she finished off a ball sent into the box by freshman Summer Diamond with 31 seconds remaining in overtime.
“I’ve never had this many emotions in my life,” Carlson said. “That was the most intense game I have ever played. Summer always plays really good crosses into the six and that was a perfect ball, right where I made my run. I didn’t have to do anything. Just tapped my foot. And now, I will never forget the number 31.”
- Watch replay: Bonneville 2, Maple Mountain 1
The score closed what was an intense back-and-forth contest.
Hailey Price put Bonneville ahead early, with a goal in the sixth minute, while Allie Fryer netted the lone Maple Mountain score moments later.
The meeting in the semifinals was the second time the Lakers and the Golden Eagles played this season.
They faced off in the season opener, and Maple Mountain came away with that win, but Bonneville claimed the one that counted most.
“The girls were playing freaking awesome,” Bonneville head coach Gavin Garside said. “I wasn’t worried. I didn’t do a dang thing. It was the freaking girls.”
According to Carlson, it is a group of girls unlike any other.
“I’ve never had a better experience than being on this team,” she said. “This team has pushed me and I love every single one of these girls. That was the best feeling, and I can’t wait for state.”