High school boys soccer: Bountiful, Maple Mountain both overcome 5A semifinal deficits to advance to final

Published: May 18, 2026, 3:15 p.m. MDT

Maple Mountain’s Carter Egbert (17) shoots past Hillcrest’s Isaac Barnes (34) to score the winning goal in sudden death overtime during the 5A boys soccer state semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, May 18, 2026. Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

James has been covering high school sports in Utah for the Deseret News for three decades.

Here’s a recap of the 5A boys soccer semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium on Monday, with Bountiful and Maple Mountain winning to set up a meeting in Friday’s final.

Hillcrest plays Maple Mountain during the 5A boys soccer state semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, May 18, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Hillcrest players lay on the ground after losing to Maple Mountain in sudden death overtime during the 5A boys soccer state semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, May 18, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Maple Mountain’s Nathan Pineda (26) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a free kick against Hillcrest during the 5A boys soccer state semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, May 18, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Maple Mountain 3, Hillcrest 2

In the 20 or so minutes after equalizing in Monday’s 5A semifinal, Maple Mountain was on the front foot the rest of regular with a winner seeming inevitable.

Chance after chance and chance, however, either missed the target or Hillcrest keeper Jesus Khalil came up with big saves to keep the score level.

All season Maple Mountain coach Lincoln Snyder has praised his players for their “goldfish” mentality of immediately moving onto the next opportunity and not hanging their heads about shoulda, coulda, woulda.

That same mentality from Carter Egbert has Maple Mountain on the doorstep of its first state championship in a decade.

After spinning around a defender near the top of the box nine minutes into overtime, Egbert had the ball on his preferred left foot with a chance to try and smash home the winner in traffic.

He flubbed the shot, with it dribbling harmlessly to a defender. Egbert immediately pressed the defender, forcing a missed clearance and he was in perfect position to tap in the golden goal to the sealed the dramatic 3-2 win for the Golden Eagles.

“I just wanted the he game to end. I was just hunting the ball, and luckily it just dropped, and the kid missed it and it came right back to me,” said Egbert.

With the win, No. 6 seed Maple Mountain will advance to Friday’s 5A final at 10 a.m. against No. 5 seed Bountiful.

“We’ve been working really hard, and I know there’s been moments we’ve had some tough losses where we felt like we left it all out there and it didn’t come through,” said Snyder. “That’s the sport. But the boys feel as though everything they’ve been working for, it really close, and that it’s possible.”

6A/5A/4A/3A/2A state tournament scores and schedules

Facing off against No. 7 Hillcrest — which upset undefeated No. 2 seed Pleasant Grove in the quarterfinals last week — Maple Mountain got a dream start in Monday’s semifinal.

Two minutes into the game, Egbert volleyed in the game’s opening goal ninja style after a deflected shot popped straight to him.

Hillcrest gradually grew into the game and eventually equalized in the 18^th minute as Gideon Kirby smashed home a perfect ball from Weston Allen into a dangerous area that froze the keeper.

Just two minutes into the second half, Hillcrest took the lead on a brilliant transition goal that began all the way at the other end of the field on a Maple Mountain corner kick. Levi Walton headed the driven corner away before it could ever get into an dangerous area, and it immediately sprung Hillcrest’ attack.

Three Huskies darted up field, including Walton, who after his 100 yard sprint ended up assisting on Kirby’s goal that put Hillcrest ahead 2-1.

Over the final 38 minutes of regulation and overtime, Maple Mountain pushed the pace, pressing Hillcrest into giveaways and immediately creating more scoring opportunities.

“That’s something our team always does, we just keep following through on every opportunity. You saw we had so many chances, a lot of them didn’t come through,” said Snyder.

Maple Mountain eventually did equalize in the 59^th minute after a freekick from Nathan Pineda deflected off the Hillcrest’s wall and into the crossbar. Khalil leapt to get the slightest touch on the ball for the save, but he landed on the ground simultaneously as the ball did, as was unlucky to have the ball bounce off his back and just trickle across the goal line.

Snyder said a big part of Maple Mountain’s success in the second half was played faster and and making quick decisions on the ball.

After Egbert’s overtime heroics, the program will look win its first state championship since 2016 when it faces Bountiful.

“The boys really want it. It’s been a while since our program has been this far, and I know the boys really, really want it,” said Snyder.

Bountiful’s Sam Serio (8) celebrates after scoring a penalty kick to take a 3-2 lead over Alta during the 5A boys soccer state semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, May 18, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Alta plays Bountiful during the 5A boys soccer state semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, May 18, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Bountiful goalkeeper Jovany Lobato (00) reacts after giving up a goal to Alta’s Madden McAllister (5) during the 5A boys soccer state semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, May 18, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Bountiful’s Sam Serio (8) celebrates after scoring a penalty kick to go up 3-2 against Alta during the 5A boys soccer state semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Monday, May 18, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Bountiful 3, Alta 2

For a team down two goals at the half of Monday’s 5A semifinal, the mood on Bountiful’s sideline was surprisingly upbeat.

“Felt like we were the better team,” said Bountiful’s Pim DeJonge.

Added Gabe Johnson, “The boys were frustrated, as you can imagine, being down 2-0 is not a great spot to be in ever. But you could feel it, all the boys were excited to go and have another 40 minutes.”

During those 40 minutes, No. 5 seed Bountiful completely flipped the narrative, scoring three goals in a wild six-minute stretch in the second half as it bounced top-seed Alta 3-2 to advance to the 5A state championship.

“With the momentum, we felt like we could take on the world,” said DeJonge, who scored the tying goal in the chaotic second-half stretch.

Alta beat Bountiful twice in region play this season, but both games were close and Bountiful never doubted it could knock off the tournament favorites at Zions Bank Stadium.

A big second-half comeback made it possible, and now Bountiful is one victory away from its first state championship since 2013.

“Finals are special. This is really special. … Everyone at the school wants to be part of it. Feel like it’s such a community. It’s beautiful. I’m excited. I can’t wait to play,” said DeJonge.

Bountiful will face the Hillcrest-Maple Mountain winner in the championship game on Friday at 10 a.m. MDT.

Bountiful’s graduation is on the same day, which means Bountiful’s dozen seniors will hold a brief graduation ceremony on the field at Zions Bank Stadium prior to the match.

“It’s been a goal of ours since the beginning of the year. Especially being in the semifinal last year, we felt like there was some unfinished business. So, just super excited for the opportunity and can’t wait to see what it brings,” said Johnson, whose team is hoping to follow in the path of Bountiful’s girls soccer team last fall.

The girls team lost in the semifinals in 2024, but the following year turned around and won the state championship.

A trip to the final didn’t seem in the cards after conceding a pair of carbon-copy goals to Alta’s Madden McAllister in the first half.

Both started with free kicks at nearly identical spots about 25 yards from goal, forcing Bountiful keeper Jovany Lobato into a diving save to his left. Instead parrying the shots out for corners, the rebounds stayed inbounds and each time, an Alta player was first to the ball to knock it back across the goal mouth for simple finishes for McAllister.

Tanner Kunz played the ball across in the 28th minute for the 1-0 lead, and then Watson Carr for the second assist and the 2-0 lead in the 37th minute.

For any fan stuck in the bathroom for either goal, or who briefly turned away, rest assured: If you saw one of the goals, you saw them both.

Despite allowing the second goal so close to halftime, Bountiful had full confidence about the second half.

“It was just a reminder of ‘keep doing what you’re doing.’ Played a great half, we’re just ... weren’t clinical in front of the net. So, it was just reminding them to stay on that second runner on the set piece and then everything else, just keep knocking the ball around, keep trusting your teammates and do what we know how to do.”

Ten minutes into the second half, Bountiful’s Ezra Christiansen whittled the lead in half as he tracked down a diagonal through ball from Sammy Serio and slipped it past the keeper who’d come about toward the spot to cut down the angle.

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Two minutes later, Bountiful leveled the game 2-2 as DeJonge flicked in a free kick from Cameron Martin just in front of the keeper.

Building off the momentum, Bountiful earned a PK just three minutes later, with Serio calmly stepping up and burying the goal for the 3-2 lead in the 55th minute.

From there, it was all about managing Alta’s push forward and securing its spot in the final.

“We’ve grown a little bit over the past few weeks since we’ve played them last. Ultimately, it was just fine-tuning the pieces. We didn’t feel like we needed to switch everything that had gotten us success to the semifinal. So, I wanted to reinforce that confidence in my boys,” said Johnson.

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