By Justin Adams | [email protected] 

The Brighton boys soccer team are region champs after defeating Alta 2-0 on Thursday afternoon. The win caps off a very successful season for the Bengals, who have only lost once all year.

It didn’t take long for Brighton’s boys soccer team to get on the board in their final game of the regular season against their rival Alta Hawks. The team’s first goal came within the first minute, as Brighton was able to take advantage of a 3-on-2 counter attack.

“That’s exactly what we needed to do,” said Brighton head coach Brett Rosen following the game. “When you score a goal in the first minute it always puts the other team on their heels. Especially in a rivalry game like Brighton-Alta, if you can hit that first punch, so to speak, then you usually end up having a great game.”

The next 78 minutes played out in a stalemate, with each team’s defense stepping up and making crucial stops.

Alta’s Kenny Kocherscheidt had a great shot in the first half that looked like it was going to sail over the Brighton keeper’s outstretched hands, but he was able to get a hand on it and send it over the crossbar.

The match looked to be headed towards a 1-0 finish, particularly in the second half when Alta’s trips to the attacking third of the field were few and far between. But Brighton’s David Brog snuffed out any chances of a late equalizer when he was able to get around Alta’s defense and bury a shot in the back of the net during stoppage time. It was Brog’s 11th goal of the season.

The win is Brighton’s first against Alta since 2014, though their series was recently put on hold for a couple years when Alta briefly moved to the 4A ranks.

“Brighton-Alta is the greatest thing in Utah high school soccer. It’s sad that it was gone as long as it was,” said Rosen, who has fond memories of playing Alta as a member of the Brighton soccer team when he was in high school.

It wasn’t all good news for Brighton however, as senior forward Hayden Church sustained a knee injury late in the second half and had to be carried off the field. Coach Rosen said that they’re not sure of the extent of the injury yet, but that the injury won’t derail the team from its goals.

“It’s always sad to see someone go down, especially a senior. We feel sorry for him but we have to move forward,” he said.

Now Brighton will prepare for a matchup with Maple Mountain in the first round of the state playoffs. That game will be next Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.

Alta finishes second in the region and will take on Wasatch in the first round. Alta head coach Lee Mitchell said following the game that although the team was disappointed they weren’t able to win the region, they are confident heading into the tournament.

“We’re playing the best soccer we’ve played all year so that’s a good thing going into the playoffs,” he said.