High school boys soccer: Alta rallies to dethrone Wasatch, claim 4th state championship since 2017

A rematch of the 2023 5A state championship ended much differently than it did two years ago.

The previous match ended with a 4-2 Wasatch victory, its first of two straight state titles. On Thursday, Alta was able to dethrone the two-time defending champ by a score of 3-2 for its fourth championship in eight years, having previously won it in 2017, 2018 and 2022.

“They’ve been here three years in a row, so we knew it was going to be a battle,” Alta head coach Mackenzie Hyer said. “For us, it’s less about who we play, and more about that they played and made it to this game. It was more about the game itself.”

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The first half Thursday was fairly even, with both teams finding the back of the net. Wasatch started the scoring 15 minutes in with a beautiful cross into the box that bounced off the keeper’s hands and was finished by senior Jayden Cosper.

The Hawks would answer back just seven minutes later when the ball dropped at Josh Glazier’s feet on the edge of the box and he shot a miraculous lob that just barely scraped over the Wasatch keeper’s head into the back of the net.

Five minutes into the second half, Alta found itself down again as Wasatch took the lead on a corner kick that Ace Downey crossed near the post, and Cole Simpson finished it.

Alta fought back yet again with a through ball from the right side to junior Tanner Kunz, who slotted it past the keeper to tie the game.

Then with just 16 minutes remaining in regulation, Hawks junior center back Jack McAllister stepped over the ball for a free kick from roughly 30 yards out. He curled the shot to the far post and buried it to give Alta its first lead of the game.

“I’m on my left foot, nice grass and a nice ball. The keeper was cheating on that near post and I (thought), ‘If I can hit this hard enough far post, we either have a cross or its a goal,’” McAllister said.

His instincts didn’t let him down, as he sunk the miraculous shot to put his team ahead.

Hyer called McAllister a “set-piece specialist,” and McAllister said, “(My coach) trusts me, and I trust my team. I do what I can do to put the ball where I need it, and my team will do the rest.”

A huge key Thursday was Alta’s ability to bear down and hold on to that lead, especially after one of its players had been shown a red card with roughly 18 minutes remaining.

The Hawks were forced to play a man down the rest of the way, but they rallied together and held the Wasps without a goal to secure the victory.

Hyer shouted out her backline of Ty Dutcher, Zach Lovell and Connor Rasmussen, saying, “They were the difference in the game today. You’ve got to score goals to win championships, but you’ve [also] got to have a stellar defense.”

Alta held on and celebrated its title in front of a raucous student section, and many Hawk players could be seen with tears after an incredibly hard-fought battle against a very talented Wasatch team.

“They just have the heart of champions,” Hyer said of her players. “They’ve worked the whole season for this. I’m so proud of them. They never quit believing that we were going to end up on top today.”