His Laker team delivered its first region title in four years as the No. 8 seed in the 5A state playoffs, which ended with a 2-0 road loss at No. 1 Bountiful in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

One match shy of a trip to the final state stage in Herriman, Bonneville’s third-year coach consoled one of his deepest rosters in years, including three Division I commits and 16 combined seniors.

One of those seniors, defender Brynlee Needham, played her final high school soccer match in a Laker uniform. She plans to pursue medical school upon finishing at Bonneville next spring.

“It’s definitely disappointing, but I feel like we left everything out there that we could,” Needham said. “The score doesn’t really show how hard we played and fought for our spot to be here today.”

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

The last remaining Region 5 contenders, Bonneville and West Field, are now out of the postseason picture following losses at Bountiful and No. 4 Brighton in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The Redhawks (16-4), the state’s top seed in 5A, leaned on two powerful goals laced together by Ole Miss commit Myka Page. She found the net 8 minutes into the match, and capitalized on a pass from Jane Hellewell for a 2-nil advantage with 26 minutes to play in the second half.

“It’s tough because I felt we played a great game and controlled the ball how we wanted to,” Nicholls said. “They had two beautiful shots, and Bountiful’s just loaded with talent, so we knew it was going to be a challenge. But I actually like how we played. We had a lot of shots, needed to get a little more power behind them, but we got a lot off. … I just wish we could’ve seen them a little later.”

“We could beat a lot of good teams in the state, and I think we’ve proved that.”

Bonneville’s backline, which features Utah Tech commit Maggie Anderson and Utah-bound midfielder/defender Berkley Stein, were responsible for taming a Bountiful attack that’s clawed out 3.7 goals per match since August.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Chances for the Lakers appeared late before the half on a free kick by senior Utah State commit Phalastine Odeh, and again late in the second half when junior IzzeBella Burrus made a play on a close ball before it reached the hands of Bountiful goalkeeper Charli Castleberry.

Putting pressure on the net — even down two goals with 10 minutes left — is the effort Nicholls has come to expect from any 11 girls on the pitch.

“Defense has been our strong point from the top down,” Nicholls said. “Our big thing was keeping their back to the goal, making them pass out of it, which is still not easy because (Bountiful) are great passers. … They’re so good at knowing where each other’s back door runs, they’re No. 1 team for a reason, but as I said, I’m proud of how we played, and we made it hard for them.”

He continued:

“They’re just amazing,” Nicholls said of his senior class. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have every one of those seniors up to this point. … It’s a special class that I’ll miss.”

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

A region title in hand, Needham and 15 other seniors can point to a milestone in the yearbook.

“When we came today, we were just trying to make sure we weren’t leaving any regrets or anything,” Needham said. “We wanted to leave everything out on the field that we could.”

BRIGHTON 1, WEST FIELD 0

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — No. 12 West Field saw a potential Cinderella run end with a second-half goal from No. 4 Brighton (15-4) on Thursday in the 5A quarterfinals.

West Field finishes with a record of 12-8 and has won 12 games in each of the last two seasons.

Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standard.net.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Bonneville's Phalastine Odeh, left, makes a move on Bountiful's Sami Carter during the 5A girls soccer state quarterfinal at Bounitful High School on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Bountiful. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).

Bonneville's Lily Atkinson, in goal, rushes toward the ball during the 5A girls soccer state quarterfinal at Bounitful High School on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Bountiful. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).

Bonneville coach Brady Nicholls speaks with his team at halftime during the 5A girls soccer state quarterfinal at Bounitful High School on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Bountiful. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).

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