More than a zip code on the line in Ogden, Ben Lomond state soccer standoff
Tigers, Scots meet in 3A boys soccer semis Thursday in Herriman
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- Ogden High boys soccer captain Luis Velasco, left, and Ben Lomond captain Amir Odeh pose for a photo Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex.
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- Ben Lomond High boys soccer captain Amir Odeh (6) poses with head coach Paul Baltazar on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex.
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- Ogden High boys soccer player, from left, Xavier Peregrina (1), head coach Todd Scott, and players Luis Velasco (15) and Jace Rodriguez (17) pose for a photo on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex.
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- Ogden High boys soccer captain Luis Velasco, left, and Ben Lomond captain Amir Odeh pose for a photo Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex.
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- Ogden High boys soccer players Jace Rodriguez (17), Xavier Peregrina (1) and Luis Velasco (15) pose for a photo on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex.
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- Ogden High boys soccer head coach Todd Scott, left, poses with captain Luis Velasco on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex.
OGDEN — How Ogden High and Ben Lomond found themselves on the same side of the 3A state boys soccer postseason feels a bit cinematic.
Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky IV,” Thomas Carter’s “Coach Carter,” and Jeff Wadlow’s “Never Back Down” were all titles both sides’ captains threw on their pregame watchlist, but even those star-studded casts wouldn’t quite replicate the real thing.
A rivalry typically contested on either side of Ogden Canyon moves an hour-plus south for the third meeting this season. Undefeated No. 1 seed Ogden and No. 5 Ben Lomond meet in the state semifinals Thursday at Zions Bank Stadium.
The regular-season series, already belonging to Ogden 2-0, is a gemstone of the Tigers’ sixth region title and the third of Todd Scott’s tenure as head coach. Another win means back-to-back title-match appearances for Ogden (16-0), eyeing consecutive state titles for the first time.
The Scots (10-4), on the other hand, have been on the warpath since a narrow 1-0 loss at Ogden on March 31. Winning seven straight matches, BL is playing in its first state semifinal since 2010; the Scots last won a title in 1999 and haven’t won a region championship since 2019.
For seniors like BL’s Amir Odeh, the road wasn’t going to end without a finale.
“It gives us another chance to redeem ourselves,” Odeh said. “We knew, after losing that (March) game at Ogden, we knew we’d see them again and our mindset towards that was ‘OK, we’ll get better and we’ll see them eventually.'”
Both schools’ deep soccer roots are the flavor of Thursday’s match. Ogden and BL share club and rec league teammates who’ve attached themselves to the game since they were toddlers.
The tight-knit community appealed to Odeh when moving to Ogden as a junior.
“I would see familiar faces and that kind of brought the Ogden community together,” Odeh said. “Coming (to BL) and seeing familiar faces, my dad’s friends and their kids are playing with me, that was just kind of the atmosphere I came into.”
They’ve grown up playing together on the same pitches, watching their older siblings play the very game that, Thursday, decides a seat in Saturday’s 3A state championship at America First Field.
“We’re both coming out strong, physical, and wanting it,” Ogden junior goalkeeper Xavier Peregrina said.
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Paul Baltazar’s first season as the Scots’ head coach hasn’t been without intention, and the potential feat in front of his program doesn’t hit lightly. Once a BL player himself, Baltazar can speak directly to the sort of pride that’s on the line when both teams hit the pitch Thursday.
In the season’s first meeting with Ogden, Oscar Castro Moreno, BL’s goalkeeper, received a red card, exited the match, and the Tigers went on for a 7-1 road win. In their next meeting, Moreno allowed just one goal, albeit the game-winner, in yet another setback for the Scots.
“It carries a lot of emotional background to it,” Baltazar said. “Something that stood out to me at the end of that (second) game was that emotion that my players were showing, which is, ‘I want that game again. I want it.’ With that being said, once they had that energy and that type of effort, it really showed for the rest of the season.”
Emotion is one of the constants keeping BL glued together, Odeh described, leaving a disciplined headspace behind long after each of BL’s four seniors — Odeh, Moreno, Kai Yanigibashi, Rogelino Godinez and Jovanni Cervantes — walk the stage later this month.
“If they see us seniors — regardless of the result — our effort, how much we want it, it’ll piggyback off that to next year, and the juniors will then become seniors,” Odeh said. “That’s what motivates us as well. It’s from last year, seeing how hard, how bad the seniors wanted it and now me being in that position, I want it just as bad now.”
Once a player, an assistant and now a head coach, Baltazar has his former team on the brink of something they haven’t accomplished in 26 years.
“Our story isn’t done yet but this is where the story can lead to,” Baltazar said. “That’s kind of been my message ever since I made the decision that I was going to be leading this program somewhere. That was at the very front of my mission.”
Baltazar continued:
“Staying near this community and being here within (BL) has been one of the best decisions I’ve made so far. I just want to continue to do that, continue to push our population to where they can go and just being that push forward to ensure that they can reach their dreams and make sure that we can meet those expectations.”
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Above all the accolades, Ogden junior forward Jace Rodriguez puts it, are the family and loved ones flavoring Thursday’s semifinal. It’ll be an early morning for everyone involved, with gates opening at 8 a.m. and kickoff scheduled for 9 a.m.
Rodriguez doesn’t want his community to leave disappointed.
“You’re always playing for someone,” Rodriguez said. “Our coaches always tell us, think about who you’re playing for, and do it for them, do it for yourself, and do it for the team.”
The Tigers produced a compelling 5-1 victory over No. 9 Judge Memorial Catholic in the quarterfinals, protecting a 2-1 halftime lead for a big second half.
Judge saw one of two late first-half goals reversed before halftime. In a scenario where things could’ve easily been tied 2-2, Ogden senior midfielder Luis Velasco received a firsthand test in captainship in as little as 10 minutes during the break.
“We were all mad, of course,” Velasco said.
“But I feel like going into halftime we all just realized that was a mistake, everyone makes mistakes, and I feel like we didn’t get mad at each other. That keeps our family together to the point where we talk about what we need to fix, and coming out in the second half, we communicated more, played calmly (and) collectively, and that’s where we got our goals.”
Thriving in such instances is where Ogden has found an edge, Scott said. Ogden’s head coach has watched his three captains — Peregrina, Rodriguez, and Velasco — grow their rapport off the field and translate that into success when the whistle’s blown.
“They’re my captains for a reason,” Scott said. “They’re very calm, collected when they can be. It’s one of those things where they know what’s at stake, even before the state playoffs it’s just a backyard rivalry. … It’s going to be an intense, state-championship caliber game.”
Connect with sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
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More than a zip code on the line in Ogden, Ben Lomond state soccer standoff
