By Josh McFadden | [email protected] 

The Olympus boys lacrosse team finished the last season as a club in style, going 15-4 and advancing in the state tournament. 

Next season, lacrosse becomes a sanctioned sport, and the Titans hope to carry the momentum it gained from a successful 2019 campaign. Olympus lost to Lone Peak 13-11 in the tournament semifinals on May 10, bringing its season to a close. Even though Olympus fell short of the ultimate goal of a championship, head coach Matt Duke-Rosati said the program made significant progress. The Titans had their best record since 2006 and swept a three-game tournament in Boise.

“Our season didn't have the storybook ending that all of us were gunning for, but all in all, we took a massive step forward as a program,” Duke-Rosati said. “We had fantastic team chemistry, camaraderie and sense of family.”

It sure helped that Duke-Rosati had a player the caliber of Tommy Poulton to turn to for production and leadership. The senior captain was a force at the midfield position where he took 180 shots, including 108 on goal. He led the team in goals (57) and assists (21) for total of 78 points. He earned U.S. Lacrosse All-American honors, was the state MVP for his position and was a First-Team All-State performer. It was the first time in eight years Olympus produced an All-American.

Two other Titans were All-State players. Senior defender Andrei Brown and junior Xander Gordon received the honors. Brown had 15 goals and six assists; he also caused 28 turnovers. Gordon had 52 goals and eight assists on the year. 

Duke-Rosati also pointed out the valuable contributions from senior captain Chase Bennion (a midfielder), senior captain Jon Boss (at attacker) and senior goalie Oliver Dalrymple, who had 148 saves and stopped more than 55% of opponents’ shots. 

There were plenty of highlights from the season. Duke-Rosati was thrilled that the Titans got past Corner Canyon when the two teams met on April. Olympus prevailed 9-8 defeating the Chargers for the first time in school history. Olympus also beat Park City on April 5 by the score of 13-9. It was the only loss of the season for the state champion Park City squad. 

Duke-Rosati was impressed with how focused his players were, even though the team got the best shot of every club it faced. 

“Given that we had one of the best players in the state of Utah, I think we had a target on our back,” he said. “We came out of the gates firing early in the season and continued to play well through the end. Of course, the kids were disappointed we didn't win a state championship, but we absolutely took a step forward.”

The Titans lost some important pieces of the team, but Duke-Rosati is optimistic he can reload with some incoming talent. 

“We've got a massive pipeline of great players ready to fill in,” he said. “We graduate a lot of key pieces on both offense and defense but our junior class, highlighted by Xander Gordon, one of the best pure scorers in the state, is champing at the bit to come back hungry next year. Our defense will be led by Nate Delis, a rising junior who is more than ready to lead that unit. We also have some rising sophomores and some rising freshman that will be key pieces next year.” 

The Titans will compete in Region 5 of Class 5A next year when the Utah High School Activities Association starts sanctioning the sport.