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Orem boys soccer sees winning streak end, hopes to build from loss to Alta

By Jared Lloyd - | May 3, 2023
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Orem senior Jesse Ruiz and an Alta player kick the ball into the air during the Region 8 game in Orem on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
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Orem senior Jesse Ruiz traps the ball during the Region 8 game against Alta in Orem on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
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Orem senior Drew Thomson (right) can't get to the ball before the Alta keeper grabs it during the Region 8 game in Orem on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
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Orem freshman Kaue Akana heads the ball toward the goal during the Region 8 game against Alta in Orem on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
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Orem senior Drew Thomson (right) races an Alta player to the ball during the Region 8 game in Orem on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
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Orem senior Ivan Arechiga (right) and an Alta player go up to head the ball during the Region 8 game in Orem on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

No competitor likes to lose.

That doesn’t mean, however, that a team can’t find some silver linings after suffering a disappointing defeat.

That’s where the Orem boys soccer team found itself Wednesday night for for the first time since the very first game of the season.

The Tigers, who had won 12 straight games, got outplayed by a relentless, determined Alta squad that turned key turnovers into a trio of first-half goals on its way to the 3-0 win.

“I’ve got to give props to Alta,” Orem head coach Luis Herrera said. “They played a game yesterday and then they came and played us today. They must have been exhausted but they brought it to us. They wanted it. Like I told my boys at halftime, we had time to rest and prepare but unfortunately today was just not our day. Alta brought it.”

Although the intense pressure from the Hawks kept the ball on the Tiger end of the field for much of the first half, Orem still had a couple of good early opportunities.

One sharp-angled shot from Tiger senior Drew Thomson made it through the hands of the diving Alta keeper and bounced toward the goal — only to trickle just wide of the post.

“You hope to put one in and have the momentum change,” Herrera said. “We were just unlucky. We had a couple of chances in the first half but got more in the second half. We just couldn’t get them in.”

Instead it was the Hawks who forced miscues as Orem tried to move the ball around and then took advantage of their numbers to get two goals from senior Preston Ludlow and another from senior Brock Bennion.

“We knew that they were going to come in and high press again, the way that they did the first game,” Herrera said. “We weren’t as disciplined with our passes and we just took a little too long. Sometimes we were taking extra touches that we shouldn’t have to relieve ourselves from that pressure.”

It was a wake-up call for the Tiger defense, which hadn’t allowed an opponent to score three goals in any game since its penalty-kick-shootout loss to Salem Hills to start the year. It held Alta scoreless in the 1-0 Orem win at Alta last week.

“I told the boys that today doesn’t define what we’ve done this season,” Herrera said. “I think it was a good wake-up call for us, especially for the guys in the back. We can’t get too confident. Someone can just come and punch us in the mouth, and that’s what Alta did today.”

The Orem offense had three or four great scoring chances in the second half but couldn’t get them on frame, allowing the Hawks to remain comfortably in front.

It certainly wasn’t the performance the Tigers wanted but the biggest silver lining of all was the fact that it happened this week instead in the playoffs when a loss ends the season.

Now Orem has time to regroup and come back stronger, just like it did after its loss to the Skyhawks.

“Once the playoffs start, it’s all business,” Herrera said. “You have to take every day personal, individually, as a team and for us as coaches. We know that we are prepared for the tournament, so that’s what we’re looking forward to. People can’t sleep on us just because we lost one game. In the tournament, you can be at the bottom of the table and beat the No. 1 seed. That’s just how the postseason is.”

The Tigers (12-2, 10-1) will close out the regular season when it hosts Jordan on Friday at 7 p.m.

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