Emotions ran high and the celebration was hearty following the Mountain View boys soccer team’s 2-0 win over Orem on Tuesday, and for good reason.

The Bruins have made marked improvements over the past three seasons, and topped it off with an upset win over a team that is widely considered the very best Utah County has to offer in the 4A classification.

“It feels amazing,” said Mountain View senior captain Matt Bryant after taking a pause to celebrate with his team in the locker room. “We’ve all come a long way in the last few years, so being able to do this feels great.”

Bryant may have understated just how far his team has come, as it were.

As a sophomore Bryant was part of a Bruin team that went winless, not just in region play, but for the entire season. As could well be imagined, overcoming a winless season, let alone sticking with and enduring the process can be difficult for anyone, perhaps especially for a young high school student.

But Bryant put his head down, along with many of his teammates and went to work.

The team saw marked improvements last season, and finished with a 7-9 overall record before taking a 4-1 loss to Ridgeline in the state playoffs. With the win over Orem, Mountain View finished the 2025 regular season with an 11-5 overall record and a 6-4 mark in Region 8 play.

“This program hasn’t had a winning record since 2018, and all the credit goes to the players,” said Mountain View Assistant Coach Tim Graham. “They’ve believed in the system and they’ve really worked for each other.”

According to Graham, a lot of that work has gone in the early morning, with the Bruin players beginning a 6am workout on Monday morning specifically for their match versus Orem.

And it paid off big.

Tightly-contested throughout, Mountain View inched ahead just prior to the close of the first half with a goal scored by Kalvin Floyd. Floyd was the beneficiary of a throw-in from the sidelines that was launched just a few yards away from the opposing goal and then kicked it through for the 1-0 lead.

Orem contended furiously throughout the second half, but was time and again set back due to some timely defense led by freshman goalie Victor Ixtarojas.

“He had a great game, and for him to step up and play like that against a team like Orem was great to watch,” Graham said.

Topping things off in style for the Bruins was Rodrigo Cueves, who streaked down the left side of the field, got in front of the defense and then buried a shot in the far top right corner of the net with just under two minutes remaining. The goal set off an impromptu celebration with the game finally all but locked up for the home team.

“We had a great gameplan, and it wasn’t pretty, but we got there,” Graham said. “It’s amazing for these players who have worked so hard. They absolutely earned it.”

The win also worked in stark contrast with Mountain View’s first game versus the Tigers when it took a humbling 5-0 loss just one month prior.

“The players developed a saying based on the African word, ‘Ubuntu,'” Graham said. “It means, ‘I am because we are,’ and the players have really abided by that. Orem took us behind the woodshed and really beat us good that first time. But this game shows how far we’ve come.”

Next up for Mountain View is the state championships where it will now be afforded a first-round bye and then take on the winner of Provo vs. Cottonwood after earning the No. 8 seed. Orem will enter the playoffs with the No. 3 seed and will take on the winner of Park City vs. Mountain Crest.