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 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 following 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 on the 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.
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.