Syracuse High Boys’ Soccer Wins 2023 State Championship

The Syracuse High School boys’ soccer team made a Cinderella run through the state tournament this past May to end up as State Champions! The Titans, who were pegged as preseason favorites in the 6A (largest) classification in February, struggled in the middle of the season back in April. A 4-game losing streak secured their spot as the #12 seed in the state tournament. Then the Titans got hot! In the opening round, they defeated Layton 2-0 at home. Then the road trips began. They went on the road and defeated the #5, #4, #1, and #6 seeds in their march for the state title, defeating Roy, Farmington, Lone Peak, and Skyridge. Highlights from their bracketbusting run included a 6-5 pk shootout victory over the Phoenix after a tough 0-0 game. In the semi-finals the Titans manhandled nationally ranked, undefeated, and the #1 team in the state, Lone Peak, by a score of 4-1. Senior Jack Cook had another hat trick (3 goals) in that game to lead the Titans to their first State Title appearance.

In the championship game, it was a quiet, scoreless, and rainy first half against the Skyridge Falcons. Halftime felt a bit longer than usual, as after two minutes of play in the second half a lightning delay sent both teams to the locker rooms for 30 minutes. The Titans did anything but talk soccer. They played games, laughed, and ate snacks. Two minutes prior to reentering the field for play, Coach Taylor Allen covered the game plan to press the Falcons, and press they did. Within 40 seconds of play resuming the Titans broke the scoreless tie with a header off junior Easton Cragun. Only 19 seconds later, senior Ryker Smith, finished the scoring for a 2-0 win.

The win capped the first championship in Syracuse Boys Soccer history, a program previously that struggled to make the playoffs 6+ years ago. It rewards Syracuse High School with their fifth state title overall (Boys Golf, Girls Basketball twice, Boys Track, and Boys Soccer), and sends Coach Taylor Allen off the field with a win in his last game as a coach. Mr. Allen has accepted a job in Administration for the coming school year. The community was in full force at Rio Tinto packing the stands in all white, helping the Titans to victory. Congratulations to the Syracuse High School boys’ soccer team on winning the State Championship!