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Orem senior defender Tyler Hutchinson (12) plays defense during the Region 8 home game against Timpanogos on Friday, April 19, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Orem players celebrate with sophomore Landon Michaelis (center) after he scored a goal during the Region 8 home game against Timpanogos on Friday, April 19, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Timpanogos senior Franco Del Rio (16) dribbles the ball up the field during the Region 8 game at Orem on Friday, April 19, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Orem and Timpanogos players battle for the ball during the Region 8 game at Orem on Friday, April 19, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Orem sophomore Landon Michaelis (5) clears the ball during the Region 8 home game against Timpanogos on Friday, April 19, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Orem and Timpanogos players battle for the ball during the Region 8 game at Orem on Friday, April 19, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Orem and Timpanogos players battle for the ball during the Region 8 game at Orem on Friday, April 19, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

If you see Orem senior defender Tyler Hutchinson grimacing this weekend, it might be because his face is sore.

Don’t worry, though. He’d tell you it was worth it.

Hutchinson’s face played a big role in propelling the Tigers to their first shutout of the 2024 season as Orem blanked rival Timpanogos, 2-0, in the Region 3 game at Orem Friday afternoon.

“From a defensive perspective, it feels incredible to get the shutout,” Hutchinson said. “That’s our first clean sheet of the season and I’ve got to give the Timberwolves credit there. They are some good finishers. They had some good chances. But as a defensive unit, just having that scoreboard right there say zero is incredible. It’s a relief to have that.”

It was very close to not happening.

The home team led 1-0 midway through the first half thanks to a Timberwolf mishit on a clearance that allowed Tiger junior forward Cody Anderson to place a long-distance shot into an empty net.

But Timpanogos has a talented team and came roaring back, hungry to get the equalizer.

The Timberwolves made a textbook offensive combination, getting the ball to the Orem end line and then crossing it to the top of the penalty box where a charging Timpanogos player was wide open with the goal gaping open in front of him.

The Timberwolf hammered a rocket toward the net — but it never got there.

“I was mostly just reading the wingers momentum, and I barely even saw the guy coming in at the top,” Hutchinson said. “I saw my keeper off the line and I knew that if I didn’t get the ball, it was either going to be a goal and the whole game was going to shift momentum or I block it and the game stays in our possession. It was a really good shot. He put a lot of power into it.”

He didn’t cringe away from the blast, allowing it to slam into the side of his face and ricochet wide of the goal, keeping the home team in front.

“It hurt,” Hutchinson said. “I’m not going to lie. It hurt.”

But, he added, it was incredibly satisfying to know he’d done his job for his team.

“It is a relief,” Hutchinson said. “Then to have everyone come up and say, ‘hey, good stuff! I want more of that.’ I said don’t worry, once my head stops stinging there will be more.”

Orem head coach Luis Herrera agreed that Hutchinson’s block was a big moment in the game for his Tigers.

“When I was watching it, I was so happy that his head was in the way because it was it was a great shot from the angle that we were standing at,” Herrera said. “It could have been the goal to tie the game and that could have given them momentum, but he was at the right place right time.”

He lauded the performance of his backline and freshman keeper Alex Rodriguez for withstanding a couple of close calls and keeping the visitors from getting the ball into the net.

“Special shoutout to Alex for keeping a clean sheet in his first start in a varsity game,” Herrera said. “I think we also found the pieces in the back that we needed. That’s been some place we’ve been weak. I’ve had kids from the junior varsity team step up and make a difference.”

Timpanogos had other opportunities to get back level but Orem always found a way to stave off the attack.

Still, Herrera wasn’t complaining when the Tigers doubled their lead in the 61st minute.

Orem got a great throw-in to where junior forward Feleti Iongi could use his head to flick it to sophomore midfielder Landon Michaelis, who pulled the ball around a charging defender and slotted it just inside the far post.

“We knew that going up 2-0 wasn’t safe, but it’s what we needed,” Herrera said. “That goal was what continued to help us going forward.”

The Tigers continued playing their high-pressure style the rest of the way and the Timberwolves ran out of time to rally.

“We were a little slow of getting back into our normal playing style,” Timpanogos head coach Kaiwi Chung-Hoon said. “I think part of it was because of what Orem was doing. Give them credit. They did a great job having a high press and I think it took our guys a little while to realize they had to keep their composure. We lost a little of that early on, then again at the end when they were ahead.”

The Tigers had struggled to a 1-7 record to that point, while the Timberwolves had won four straight and were undefeated in Region 7 action. But while Timpanogos played well, the tables turned in the rivalry game.

“This region is tough,” Chung-Hoon said. “Anyone can beat anyone and any given day. And we had the bullseye on our backs. But this was a good lesson for us.”

Herrera and Hutchinson both want the Tigers to see Friday’s victory as a sign of what Orem is capable of achieving and build on it moving forward.

“I want these guys to believe in themselves,” Herrera said. “It’s hard as a coach to know the potential and the talent you have, but then they aren’t able to execute. They are better than they have shown. They are going to carry this and we are all buying in. We are going to play everyone this same way.”

Orem (2-7) next plays at rival Mountain View on April 23 at 7 p.m., while Timpanogos (4-5) heads to Vernal to face Uintah on the same day at 3:30 p.m.

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