SLIDESHOW: 4-A, 5-A Soccer Championships
SANDY -- Stronger, faster and simply better.
The Lakers simply couldn't keep up.
Despite holding a 10th-minute lead, Bonneville was just outgunned by Region 7 champion Lehi, falling 4-1 in the state 4-A championship game on Thursday evening at Rio Tinto Stadium.
"That was the best team we've faced all year," Bonneville coach Mike Hickman said. "They were composed on the ball. They were composed in the back, the middle third and the attacking third. Just all the way around."
The Lakers punched themselves into the early lead when sophomore Gage Woodward snuck up through two defenders and then punched the ball past a charging goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.
Bonneville had a prime opportunity to make it 2-0 just a few moments later, but missed out on the chance.
The Pioneers simply came back too strong, with Zach Stanley equalizing in the 19th minute after missed a chance at clearing the ball.
Six minutes later, Lehi roared into the lead when Zach Morgan split a pair of defenders and hit a crossing shot for the 2-1 advantage.
"After we got the goal we weren't really as composed as we needed to be," Hickman said. "We needed to be much more composed with the ball in the middle third. We just gave the ball away too much."
Stanley made it 3-1 in the 51st minute, following up on a rebound off the cross bar.
Lehi had a player sent off with a straight red in the 60th minute, forcing the Pioneers to play a man down, but the Lakers were unable to capitalize.
Morgan made it 4-1 on an iffy penalty kick in the 65th minute, effectively killing off the game.
"We had a good season; we played good together at the end and kind of stepped it up in the playoffs," Hickman said. "Unfortunately we just couldn't sustain it today."
Bonneville finished its season a 12-4-2 overall, while Lehi wrapped up an 18-1-1 campaign with its first state soccer title since 1998.
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