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At this point a year ago, the Lehi and Mountain View boys soccer teams were headed in opposite directions.
After a solid season, the Pioneers had suffered four straight losses and were about to be handed a 3-1 defeat on the road at East in the first round of the 4A state tournament.
The Bruins, on the other hand, were about to spearhead a solid overall Utah Valley playoff performance, as three teams from the area (Orem and Provo being the other two) reached state semifinals and Mountain View came up just short in a 1-0 loss to Jordan in the 5A finals.
But fast-forward a year and things are a little different.
Now it's Lehi that's sitting atop Region 4 heading into today's 5A playoffs, while the Bruins are the second seed in Class 4A with a relatively young team.
"This is our first playoff game in Class 5A but we've been playing well and we want to carry that momentum from the season into the tournament," said Pioneer head coach Steve McMurdy.
He knows that his team has the talent to compete with anyone and now sits in the best position after winning the region.
"Being first means you don't have to face the tops teams in the opening game," he explained. "That can be helpful in continuing to build momentum."
For Lehi, this is a chance to show that the athletic program is not one to be taken lightly even though many of the other Pioneer teams have struggled.
"The guys all know it. They experience it as they walk through the halls and hear of the tough times," McMurdy said. "I feel like now this team is getting the respect it deserves for all of its hard work."
Even with dropping into a lower classification, Mountain View had its work cut out for it as many key pieces in last year's title run graduated. But Bruin head coach Mark Graham hopes his program is to a point where it rebuilds quickly.
"Hopefully we've turned the corner," he said. "For us, it's about confidence and the mental aspect of the game. It's going to come down to how we handle setbacks in the game."
Graham said it was great to see the success of 2007 and hopes that area teams can again perform well on the big stage.
"Traditionally Salt Lake and the Bountiful schools have very good teams," he said. "I think the better high school teams are a tribute to having better club teams in Utah County. Hopefully that will help us get caught up with the rest of the state."
This might be a year where that improvement is visible, particularly in Class 4A where Region 7 had five very strong teams.
"We assume they were good because they were all very competitive," Graham said. "If they were, we'll find out as now we play the teams from the other regions. But we had to play well every time we took the field and hopefully that got us ready."
But the Mountain View head coach pointed out that he's played in six 1-0 games in the state tournament in the last couple of years, so the little things often come into play.
He knows he'll have his hands full in his first round game in Orem on Wednesday as Woods Cross comes to town.
"They played a tough region and had a tough preseason schedule," Graham explained. "There won't be much they haven't seen."
McMurdy and Lehi will host Layton at 4 p.m. today and the Pioneer coach hopes his team comes in determined and focused.
"We need to keep playing the way we've been playing," he said. "We need to build the attack from the defense and work it through the middle with good combination play. Our defense has stayed pretty consistent but we need to find the goal more frequently."
Other 5A games this afternoon include Lone Peak welcoming Weber, TImpanogos playing at Fremont and Pleasant Grove heading to Viewmont.
In 4A action on Wednesday, league-winner Springville plays at home against Sky View, while Orem goes to Bountiful and Timpview will battle at East.
• Jared Lloyd can be reached at
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