By Josh McFadden | [email protected]

A year after falling to third place in league standings, the Olympus boys soccer team came away with the top prize in Region 6, winning the title with a more than two-game cushion.

Olympus went 8-1-1 in region action, earning 25 points in the process (three points for wins; one point for ties). Second-place West was a distant second with 18 points. The Titans were dominant in many games, outscoring foes by an average of a goal and a half a game. They only allowed six goals in league play and posted five shutouts during that portion of the season. Overall, the Titans were 12-2-2 in the regular season and outscored opponents cumulatively 35-11.

Olympus would have enjoyed an undefeated march through region had it not have been for the regular season finale when it lost to West 2-0. That setback put an end to what was an impressive eight-game winning streak and 13-game unbeaten streak. It was the first loss for Olympus since falling to Region 7 power Brighton 3-0 on March 8. 

The loss had minimal effects, apparently, as Olympus responded in a big way.

The Titans snagged the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A state tournament where they opened the playoffs at home against Provo, Region 8’s No. 4 seed, on May 14. After a modest 2-1 lead at halftime, Olympus unleashed a furious offensive attack in the second half, scoring four goals. The Titans prevailed 6-3 and got three goals from Din Huremovic. Those were goals eight, nine and 10 of the year for the forward. Ervin Huremovic, Canyon Czapla and Hayden Earl all contributed goals as well. It was Olympus’ second-highest-scoring game of the season, following seven goals in a shutout of Highland on April 23. The Titans also scored six goals in a shutout of Springville on March 27.

The four players scoring in the state tournament game typified the balanced effort Olympus showed all year. The Titans had 10 players find the back of the net this season. Following Din Huremovic was Ervin Huremovic and his six goals. Through the team’s playoff win over Provo, Lincoln Buchanon, Czapla, and Adam Naylor had each added five goals. Alec Foulger chipped in four goals. 

Though the defense had some struggles in the first-round playoff game, goalie Ian Jones played well in the net all season. The senior had nine shutouts during the regular season, giving him 14 for his career. 

Olympus advanced to the 5A quarterfinals on May 17 where it hosted another Region 5 team. This time is was No. 3 seed Box Elder, which entered the match with an 8-7-2 record and upset Region 7’s No. 2 seed, Alta, 1-0 in the first round. 

The Titans knocked Box Elder out of the playoffs with a 3-0 victory, then followed that up with a 3-2 win over Wasatch to advance to the state title game against Brighton (played after deadline).