By Josh McFadden | [email protected]

A year after placing third in Region 6, the Olympus boys soccer team is poised for its first region championship since 2008. 

But taking first won’t be easy. The Titans have to contend with rival Skyline (defending region champions) as well as other solid foes, including West and East. Luckily for Olympus, it brings back some senior leadership and other talented players who were part of the team that went 6-3-1 in region play and 10-4-3 overall in 2018. The Titans lost to Roy in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament. 

Longtime head coach Chris Sonntag was on the sidelines for that region-winning Titans’ team 11 years ago. He begins his 16th season at the helm of the Olympus program. Two senior forwards headline the Titan squad. Din Huremovic and Adam Naylor are back for their final seasons at the school. The duo combined for 15 goals a year ago, with Naylor’s eight leading the team.

Fellow senior Josh Gubler also returns. Though he helps anchor the defense at the center back position, he managed to find the back of the net four times last season as a junior. He’s also a big help to goalkeeper Ian Jones, another senior, who pitched four shutouts a year ago. Junior Jake Lewis will bolster the back line from his fullback position. Wing Hayden Earl is yet another experienced senior that Sonntag is counting on. Alec Foulger is another player to keep an eye on. He tallied a pair of goals last season. 

Olympus got off to a solid start this season, posting two wins in its first three games. It marks the third consecutive season the Titans were victorious to begin the year. 

The Titans’ season opener was a 5-0 blowout of Kearns on March 5. Olympus entertained the home crowd with two goals in the first half and three more in the second. Five different Titan players registered goals in the rout. Naylor, Foulger, Huremovic, Earl and Gubler each scored a goal, with Jones recording the shutout. 

Three days later, Olympus saw what it was like to be on the other end of a one-side game. Olympus bowed out to Brighton 3-0, as the Bengals broke open a close 1-0 game in the second half with two clinching goals. 

The Titans didn’t have to wait long to get back on track. On March 11, they got past Corner Canyon 2-1, as all the scoring took place in the second half. Huremovic and Lincoln Buchanon got shots past the Corner Canyon goalkeeper, and the Olympus defense did its part to hold the Chargers to a single goal.
The non-region slate moves quickly. By April 5, Olympus will welcome the Region 6 schedule with a game at Highland. Meanwhile, the team played at Jordan on March 15, hosted Riverton March 19 and will get its last league tune-up when it plays at Cyprus at April 2.