High school boys soccer: Pleasant Grove’s perfect season stays alive in clutch win over Maple Mountain

Not only was maintaining a perfect record on the line for Pleasant Grove in Tuesday’s game with Maple Mountain, but full control of Region 7 was also at stake.

Despite getting down early, the Vikings pushed their win streak to 13 consecutive with a 2-1 road win over the Golden Eagles.

It was a resilient win for Pleasant Grove after it trailed 1-0 following a Maple Mountain goal in the 20th minute.

The goal came after a scuffle in the box during a corner kick. The sideline referee signaled a foul, and Golden Eagles’ Corbin Gardner put it in.

Vikings’ coach Chris Ecalono disagreed with the call, but he knew there was nothing to do but move on and play from behind.

“He’s trying to sell it, and that’s just part of the game,” Ecalono said. “We felt like in a game that could determine a region championship, we didn’t want it to be decided by the refs on a PK.

“We wanted it to be very clear and obvious, so that was very disappointing. But we overcame it and eventually won the game.”

Just as it’s done all season, Pleasant Grove quickly looked past the goal deficit and attacked right back.

It took only a minute for the Vikings to get back downfield and strike back. Similarly, it came on a penalty kick after a Pleasant Grove player was fouled in the box.

Mauricio Rondan stepped up and put it in the net for the equalizer.

“We know we can play from behind,” Ecalono said. “We played from behind at the beginning of the season ... So, we know we can respond. We just have great unity on the team to be able to overcome that and fight hard.”

After the two traded goals, the game fell into somewhat of a stalemate. Both teams had chances, including one right before halftime that Pleasant Grove missed on, but neither found the go-ahead goal in regulation.

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The second half was much of the same, except the Vikings kept missing out on strong scoring chances.

A shot on goal from Pleasant Grove was stopped by Maple Mountain goalkeeper Ethan Antonino. Then, another good Viking chance was stopped off the left post.

As the game dragged on, Ecalono knew if the Vikings kept pressuring the box, they’d find a breakthrough.

When that didn’t happen in regulation, that was the message heading into the first overtime period.

“Every coach says pretty much the same thing in that situation, ‘Dig deep, you’re not tired,’” Ecalono said. “We told them, ‘It’s going to come down to making a play. It’s going to come down to making a gritty goal.’

“We’ve scored all these pretty goals, but against a class opponent like Maple Mountain, we knew it would come down to a hard-fought goal.”

Ecalono was exactly right, and finally Pleasant Grove’s relentlessness in the final third paid off.

The golden goal came after a scramble in the box. Rondan had a volley which looked on frame, but once again came off the right post.

But this time, Vikings’ leading goal scorer Trey Okey was in the right place at the right time to volley the ball into the net for the 2-1 win.

“It was a free goal, honestly, but it’s still high-pressure stakes,” Okey said. “I’m right in front of the goal, a goalie is coming right at me, and I knew I just needed to place it.

“The emotions running through me were like, ‘I can win this game. I just need to stay calm, composed, and finish the job.’”

The win gives Pleasant Grove a two-game buffer for the top of Region 7. The Vikings need to win just two of their final four games to guarantee at least a share of a region title, which they haven’t won since 2021.

“We want to win the next game, and we want to play our brand of soccer,” Ecalono said. “Then, the goal is winning region, which we haven’t won since 2021, and then on to the state tournament. Honestly, it’s one game at a time for us.”