Such was the story on Friday night as No. 2 Syracuse High had a giant of a mountain to climb against No. 1 Lone Peak in the 6A state girls soccer championship match.

After a scoreless first half, the Titans netted twice following the break and captured the school’s first girls soccer state title in storybook fashion by blanking the Knights 2-0 and denying Lone Peak a third straight championship.

“We knew we were the underdogs and didn’t have as much pressure as they did,” Syracuse senior forward Taylee Hughes said. “We just had to finish our chances.”

Several opportunities fell by the wayside in the first half, a half when Syracuse had seven corner kicks, but the Titans couldn’t get one past Lone Peak keeper Eliza Collings.

“We didn’t take advantage, so in the second half, we had to crash harder, be at the end of the balls and finish them,” Hughes said. “Stay composed and stay positive; we knew we’d end up with the win.”

Persistence and patience finally paid off for the Titans when senior defender Eva Christensen launched a free kick from midfield that cleared the first line of Lone Peak’s defense and dribbled toward Collings.

Hughes chased down the loose ball and scored the first goal of the game in the 58th minute.

“I wasn’t getting many chances, but I knew on that set piece that I would get one; I had to crash and I buried it in the corner,” Hughes said. “I followed it into the net. I was hoping it was going to go to the end and come to me, and it did.”

Christensen said the conversion on the free kick didn’t happen by accident.

“We’ve been practicing kicking on the far side and having our team crash and follow. Practice makes perfect,” Christensen said. “(Head coach Jason) Steiner, and Ryan (Eddy), and (Jason) Sederholm are great. They trust our abilities to do our best and that’s what we did today.”

From there, two things came into play: try to add to the lead, or don’t give up the tying goal — depending on who you asked.

“Our team doesn’t really drop back and play defense; we keep on pressing,” Hughes said. “We keep on going, kept playing and got another chance to score.”

Junior midfielder Talia Thompson put the icing on the cake and secured the victory with a goal in the 77th minute.

She put a different spin on how that goal came about.

“It was all going like crazy. Everyone was trying to make sure they don’t score. We were trying to waste time at that point,” Thompson said. “The ball popped out to me; the defender tripped and I saw an opportunity and put it at the corner flag.”

Syracuse (19-3) had to overcome a Lone Peak (18-2-1) team that had not allowed a goal in three playoff games coming into Friday’s title tilt, and the Titans had the answer: Hughes, a Utah Tech commit, who is the leading scorer in 6A with 26 goals on the year.

“It was amazing; we knew we had to finish; we didn’t want to go into overtime or to PKs,” Hughes said.

While the offense finally got the Titans on the board, senior keeper Erin Bott kept the Knights attackers at bay on the other end of the pitch with a clean sheet.

“Our warmups were good; they were crisp. Ryan helped me with all the shots I blocked — big shout out to my coach,” Bott said. “It was like we won five-oh. We got the shutout. It shows how much our defense worked together. We knew they had scorers. Our job as defenders is to not let them get chances.

“Eva and Carlie (Hobbs) are our centerbacks; McKenzie Hislop and Sophie (Martin) on the wings. We love each other,” Bott said.

Christensen noted how the Titans share the chemistry.

“(Defense) is definitely the dirty work, but every defender loves defense. We have great trust on this team and work together perfectly,” Christensen said.

Although Bott was stellar throughout, one play stood out when she got a key save in the 73rd minute with the score still 1-0.

“I could tell where she was going to kick the ball; I knew she was going to shoot it,” Bott said. “It was really big that I got my hands on it and I made sure to smother it, because a deflection, they could have put it in.”

Last season is in the rear-view mirror, but Syracuse avenged a semifinal loss to the Knights, learning valuable lessons in the process.

“I didn’t play my best game in the semis last year; I wasn’t locked in like I was today. I knew what I needed to do, and it’s awesome,” Bott said. “We put a lot aside — the stadium, the fans. Lone Peak is a good team, but we also knew they were beatable. We considered ourselves at the same level as them.”

Here are more of the feelings expressed by the Syracuse players after the championship game:

Hughes: “It’s amazing; our team loves it. We knew we were going to win. We worked so hard this season. We knew we were going to come out on top at the end.”

Bott: “Super exciting. Syracuse hasn’t done that, I think ever. We had our chances last year, so it’s a big deal to get region champs, senior year, and now this.”

Thompson: “It’s the most amazing thing ever; I’m so excited. I never thought we’d get here, but we worked together so well.”

All of this to cap a season that began in mid-June under the tutelage of second-year coach Steiner.

“In my first post about these girls on social media, I said, ‘Enjoy the ride; it’s going to be special because of you.’ They kept building momentum, ticking off boxes,” Steiner said. “Region; we redeemed our one loss in regulation against Corner Canyon. We redeemed ourselves from last year’s semifinal, and the ultimate here against the best team in the state, supposedly, for the past three years.

“I was very confident in this team, but was trying to get the girls to believe. They had to overcome the Lone Peak lore, whatever it is. They’ve been so dominant,” Steiner said. “As we worked ourselves into the game, we got a little more confidence — ‘Hey, it’s just another team we’ve got to play’ — and kept building from there.

“It’s all about the girls, though. I love watching them celebrate. You only get a few chances in life. I wanted it for them more than anything else.”