Fremont 6 - Syracuse 0

From the Standard Examiner:

"At Plain City, the Silver Wolves and Titans moved their game up a week to account for Davis School District's upcoming spring break, and host Fremont started its Region 1 play on fire.

What time is it?

Jordan Preator scored in the seventh minute, then assisted on the first of Jesse Wilson's two first-half goals.  Parker Preator assisted on the other score.

Matt Mitchell, Austin Sweet and Van Jacobsen scored second-half goals, while Wilson and Gunner Burrells added assists.

Fremont's overall defensive scheme was very strong, making Kevin Mead's job relatively easy.

The Silver Wolves face Clearfield and Weber this week, while the Titans take on Layton Wednesday and Northridge on Friday."

From Deseret News - Monday, March 14th.

This is an article talking about Utah high school soccer.  As always, the newspapers are very kind to Davis, but here are the salient paragraphs about Fremont.

"Last year's 5A runner-up, Fremont, will be a tough out again. After starting last season with a 3-3 record, the Silver Wolves won 13 straight to advance to the championship game.

Coach Bryan Gines said he returns most of his starters from last year's team, and they're hungry for another chance to play on the big stage at Rio Tinto Stadium.

"They have pushed so hard in the preseason to try and get ready. It's been brought up so many times. We were this close, let's continue that out and finish it this year," said Gines.

Pre-Season Rankings

The Deseret News has its pre-season rankings in print.  Fremont is listed within the top five, at number four, giving the team some of the respect it earned last season.

In order:  Davis, Brighton, Alta, Fremont and  Copper Hills.

We look forward to an exciting season.

Try-Outs this week

A new team of Silver Wolves Boys' soccer will be formed this week.  We anticipate a great season and look forward to both our returning players and any new talent that help propel the Silver Wolves to a winning season!

Summer camp at Dixie State

Jexxy and some of the other "Seniors" will be participating in a summer soccer camp at Dixie State.  If you are interested, contact either him or Mr. Smith asap.  The camp runs from Jun 8-July 2 and costs each player $240.00.  Jexxy's dad will be the coach that accompanies the team. 

Championship Heartbreak: Davis 1 - Fremont 0

Darts edge Wolves for 5-A soccer crown

By Justin Johnson (Standard-Examiner correspondent)

"SANDY -- Simply the best.

From the first minute of practice at season's beginning to the final minute of Thursday's state 5-A championship game, the Darts have been at the top of their game.

Senior central defender Steven McGrath slammed home a shot in the 6th minute and then fueled an incredible defensive effort as the Davis High School boys soccer team edged rival Fremont 1-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium to win claim the title.

"I figured it's a state game (and) we knew they were gonna be a tough team, but I really didn't think I'd be the one to get the goal," McGrath said. "I was there and hopin' (Jake) McRae would see me, and he laid it off to me and I had to take the rip."

McGrath's blistering shot from just outside the 18 slammed through the Silver Wolves' defense and into the back of the net for the early advantage.

From then on, perhaps fittingly, it was up to the Darts' defense to carry them home.

"I think looking back on this game, it will be very fitting because we won with defense," Davis coach Soulivanh Phongsavath said. "This game was just a grind the whole time. We had to it with defense."

Davis' defense has been nothing short of spectacular this year, allowing just four goals over the course of a 20-game season -- a new state record -- and racking up 16 shutouts.

While the Darts defense was shining, it's normally potent offensive attack struggled to gain traction on the massive pitch of Rio Tinto.

"We struggled the whole time. The atmosphere, the boys never really settled down or anything," Phongsavath said. "We had a hard connecting passes. You maybe saw glimpses of it every now and again, but give Fremont all the credit in the world because they were playing pretty high pressure on us. They wouldn't let us get to the wings, which we thought we'd have an advantage. They made us work for this one."Fremont continued to pressure for the equalizer in the second half and narrowly missed several quality chances.

 The Silver Wolves, who carried a 13-game winning streak into Thursday's final, aggressively fought for the equalizer as the game-clock ticked toward zero, but the Darts' defense just wouldn't break.

"The whole season they battled like crazy," Fremont coach Bryan Gines said. "When they needed to step up, they put their whole heart into it, and then they dug down some more.

"Just like tonight, they went out there and they got one down and still played their hearts out trying to come back."

Davis, which said farewell to 10 seniors following Thursday's game, finished the season at 19-1-0 overall, capturing the school's fourth state boys soccer title, and its first since 1998.

"It's the ultimate goal, and we got it," Davis goalkeeper Brackin Flitton said. "Senior year, last chance -- just to be here is incredible, and to win it is even better. It's nuts."

Phongsavath, in his third season at Davis, gave immense credit to assistant coaches Cameron Winquist, Matt Linford and Gentrie Maag for their roles in the championship season.

Fremont, which finished 16-4-0 overall and played in a state soccer championship game for the first time in school history, loses nine seniors."

From your parents, your friends, and your fans:  Thanks for a great season.  Congratulations to the graduating seniors - we hope your futures hold all that you could ever want.  To the underclassmen - we're behind you all the way.  See you next year...

Fremont vs Davis - Pre Game

From the Standard Examiner

"SANDY -- Under the bright lights, on the biggest of stages, silver and gold will meet one more time to decide just that.

Region 1 rivals Davis (18-1-0) and Fremont (16-3-0) will tangle tonight at 7 p.m. on the spectacular pitch of Rio Tinto Stadium to decide the state 5-A boys soccer championship.

"We're excited; it's anybody's game," Fremont coach Bryan Gines said. "We split with them during the season. They know us; we know them. It's gonna be a dogfight.

FANS!

"We've got to deal with their speed up front, and they do have people that can score, but so do we."

Fremont, making its first ever state soccer championship game appearance, is the only team to beat Davis this season, shutting out the Darts 1-0 in overtime on April 29 in Plain City. Davis beat Fremont 5-0 in the teams' first meeting on March 30 at Angel Street Soccer Complex, which was the last time this season the Silver Wolves lost a game.

Fremont has won 13 straight since that loss, outscoring its opposition 42-11 during that span.

"I told the kids (Monday), I'm pretty sure that no team has ever made it to the finals without winning a semifinal game, and so we wanted to focus in on (Granger)," Davis coach Soulivanh Phongsavath said. "I know Rio Tinto is a great place to think about, but we didn't want to think about it until we actually took care of business.

"That's what this team does. Whatever's placed before them, they take care of business. When we lost, and that was our first type of adversity throughout the season, they responded really well and we came out and played two or three really good games to respond to that."

Davis leads the state in just about every statistical category, racking up a 71-4 goal differential and 15 shutouts in 19 games. Senior forward Casey Black, who failed to score for just the third time this season in Davis' semifinal win over Granger, leads the state in scoring with 27 goals.

"We'll have a lot of motivation, but they're a great team. No matter what, we're gonna have to come in hard," Black said. "If we do end up playing them at the pitch at Rio Tinto Stadium, it's a lot bigger than they're used to.

They like to use their long throw-ins, they like to just send everything up and see what they can get. With that kind of a field, I think it suits us better because we play at a big field at Angel. We can work it around better than they can. It's gonna be a great game."

Fremont, Davis set to duel in 5-A title soccer game - Fremont beats Murray 3-0

"By Justin Johnson (Standard-Examiner correspondent)

Mother nature threw several elements across the pitch at Woods Cross High School on Tuesday evening, but the Darts and Silver Wolves kept their eyes focused squarely on the prize.

By identical 3-0 results, Davis and Fremont cruised through their respective state 5-A semifinal round matches, setting up an all-Region 1 state 5-A championship game.

The state 5-A boys soccer title game is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, pitting the once-beaten Darts (18-1-0) (WHO beat Davis? Oh,that was FREMONT!)  against the Silver Wolves (16-3-0) for the third time this season.

Region 1 runner-up Fremont punched it's ticket with an early goal, and then added two more late to seal the deal against Region 2 runner-up Murray.

Davis, the Region 1 champion, picked two goals in the first half and another just after the break against Region 2 champion Granger.

"We just prepared like we were playing the best team in the state," said Fremont's Jordan Preator, a freshman forward who has scored in all three of Fremont's tournament victories. "I think after we got that first goal, we kind of just sat back on our heels, and thought we had the game. Coach talked to us at halftime and told us, 'the game's not over.' So we came out in the second half firing, wanting to scoring, doing our best to try and get the goal."

Fremont rolled out to a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute after senior forward Corey Craynor won a penalty kick and junior Alec Stimpson buried it.

Murray, which had taken out two-time defending 5-A champion Brighton in last week's quarterfinals, applied a decent amount of pressure over the rest of the first half as they tried to equalize and keep their Cinderella run alive.

"We did feel confident (coming in). There's no doubt. We were leery; we didn't know quite what we were getting into," Fremont coach Bryan Gines said. "We knew they were a good team because they beat two of the top teams in the state.

"I think we started the game well, and then we got into a little bit of panic mode kick game toward the end of the first half. Second half, I had no problems, we played good ball."

After weathering everything the Spartans could throw at them, the Silver Wolves slammed the door in the 72nd minute when Preator got on the moving end up a chipped ball and slid 1-v-1 to knock it home. Senior Scott Chambers wrapped it up in the 73rd minute, heading in a perfect cross from Craynor."

The article then goes on to talk about Davis...

PLAYOFFS - Fremont stuns Murray - moves on to Title Game!

WOODS CROSS — When they stepped on the field at Woods Cross High for their 5A semifinal match against Murray on Tuesday, the Fremont Silver Wolves knew they had a chance to reach uncharted territory.

Never before had a boys soccer team from Fremont High played in a state championship game, and the fifth-ranked Wolves knew they could get there by taking care of business against upstart Murray in the second-to-last round.

To their immense credit, Fremont's players took full advantage of the golden opportunity.

Junior Alec Stimpson put Fremont ahead 1-0 from the spot in just the fifth minute, and the Silver Wolves — after dodging some big bullets in the first half — took control of the match down the stretch to eventually win, 3-0, and advance to Thursday's championship game at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Fremont will face 18-1 Davis at 7 p.m. Thursday in what will be an all-Region 1 final. The Silver Wolves are the only team to have beaten Davis this spring.

Fremont will undoubtedly hope to show the rest of the state what it's all about on that grand stage, but just the fact that the Silver Wolves will be there is what was thrilling to coach Bryan Gines on Tuesday.

"It's something special for our program," said Gines. "We've worked hard through the years, between my coaching and all the other coaches that come up through the years. Everybody has strived for this, and we're real excited."

Ultimately, the difference Tuesday was the way Fremont came out in the second half, and that allowed the Silver Wolves to end Murray's magical postseason run, which included wins over powerhouse Viewmont and two-time defending champ Brighton.

Early on, Stimpson converted a penalty kick to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead, but they were then pinned back for stretches of the first half and were hardly in control when halftime arrived. That all changed in the second half.

Fremont started distributing the ball a lot better in the second half, and that led to scoring chances at Murray's end and few chances for Murray at Fremont's end.

"They started passing," Gines said of the second half.

Pass they did, and after surviving one scary moment which saw Murray nearly equalize, the Wolves sealed the game in the closing moments. Phenomenal freshman Jordan Preator slotted the ball home in the 75th minute, and Scott Chambers added a third goal less than 60 seconds later to put the icing on the cake.

Preator showed fantastic composure to slot home his 1 vs. 1 opportunity when Chambers headed the ball forward as he scored for the third time in as many postseason games.

"He's a freshman for heaven sakes," said Gines. "The kid, the last five, six games has come together as a total player for us. He gives the ball up whenever we need it, and he scores when it's there. He takes the shots.

"He is just unreal — unreal," added Gines. "The kid's gonna be something special."

He arguably already is, and for his part afterward, he said he's simply thrilled to be able to help his seniors accomplish their goals.

"It's good to be able to score and help out the team as a freshman," said Preator. "I wanna be able to help out the seniors to be able to get a championship, and I hope the freshmen when I'm a senior will help me out to do that, too."

Of course, Preator is far from the only shining star for Fremont right now. Whether it's the starters on the field or the reserves coming off the bench, virtually everyone is playing well for the Wolves.

And now the Wolves get to play for a state championship.

"Hopefully," said Preator, "we can perform in the finals."

Fremont knocks off Copper Hills to advance to the 5A semifinals

From  the Deseret News: 


"WEST JORDAN — Fremont's soccer players had all the respect in the world for highly regarded Copper Hills when they took the field against the fourth-ranked Grizzlies in the quarterfinal round of the 5A state tournament Friday afternoon.

But they also believed in themselves.And now the Wolves will play in the semifinals.


Believed that they were also a really good team, and that they were going to play really well and that they were ultimately going to prevail.

Prevail they did.

Corey Craynor scored back-to-back goals early in the second half to shockingly put Fremont ahead 4-0, and the fifth-ranked Silver Wolves held on from there to win, 5-2, and advance to next Tuesday's semifinal round at Woods Cross High.

"It's just unbelievable," said Craynor.

At the end of one of the craziest quarterfinal rounds in 5A tournament history, Craynor's succinct statement fit on so many levels.

But don't count the Silver Wolves among the disbelievers. All along, they thought that what actually happened on Friday was going to happen — not necessarily in terms of what the final scoreline was but in terms of them being better than Copper Hills.

"Everyone was saying, 'They're fourth. Those guys are fourth,' (but) we were like, We're better than them,' " said Chambers. "We just knew we had to play like it. They're a good team. Copper Hills, they're a way good team, but we knew if we played our game, we'd win."

They did, and they did.


With the victory, Fremont advances to the semifinals for the second time in school history. The Wolves last made it to the second-to-last round in 2002.

Fremont will face Murray, a shocking upset winner over two-time defending champion Brighton in one 5A semifinal next Tuesday, while No. 3 Davis advances to face Granger, a shocking upset winner over top-ranked Alta, in the other semifinal.

Against Copper Hills, Fremont assumed permanent control early in the second half.

Leading 2-0 at halftime — courtesy of back-to-back goals by freshman Jordan Preator and Chambers midway through the first half — Craynor scored a dagger of a third goal just four minutes into the second half.

From the middle of the park, Preator brilliantly played the ball behind Copper Hills' backline, and Craynor surged through and slotted it past the onrushing goalie and into the net.


Copper Hills was completely shell-shocked


"That was huge," Chambers said of his team's third goal. "They're an amazing team, and 2-0 is not good enough. They get one goal, and they've got all the momentum. We knew we had to get another one, or they'd have momentum and then we'd be on our heels."


Craynor most definitely didn't let that happen, and he added a fourth Fremont goal just four minutes later to effectively end the match with 32 minutes on the clock.

Copper Hills — to its credit — did continue to play hard against Fremont over those 32 minutes and got goals from star strikers Carlos Lara and Anthony Nixon sandwiched before Fremont's fifth goal by Chambers.

However, the mountain the Grizzlies were forced to climb proved to be too way steep.

Afterward, a beaming Fremont coach Bryan Gines said that all stemmed back to the third goal.

"It was dang fast, and the third goal was the killer," said Gines. "It's tough to come back from 3-nothing. I don't care who you are and how good you are. Three-nothing is tough, tough to come back. They did come back strong — I got to hand it to them. They came back at us, but we just held on."And now the Wolves will play in the semifinals.

For several years, Fremont struggled to get out of the first round. Then it was the quarterfinals.

The Silver Wolves can now cross that one off the list of to-do items.

"It's huge," Chambers said of getting to the semifinals. "I've been starting since 10th grade. I played ninth grade, and I was in all those games playing when we lost. We got disappointed, and that sucks. I just (didn't) want (that) to be for my senior year, so it's huge."

Fremont vs Copper Hills from the Standard Examiner

"FREMONT 5, COPPER HILLS 2: At West Jordan, the Silver Wolves controlled the field to perfection, surging into Tuesday's semifinals with an impressive road win and 12th in a row overall.

"We are really working well, controlling the midfield," Fremont coach Bryan Gines said. "Defensively, Austin Jex and Dillon Bishop did a really good job in the center of the field."

Fremont led 2-0 at the half, as Jordan Preator took a Corey Craynor pass and rammed it home, followed by Scott Chambers' tally.

Craynor scored to put Fremont ahead 3-0, then after Copper Hills got on the board, Jex assisted Craynor on his third goal of the day.

Chambers added a late goal, assisted by Preator.

The Silver Wolves (15-3-0), making their second-ever state 5-A semifinal appearance, will face Region 2 runner-up Murray in Tuesday's semifinal round at Woods Cross High School.

PLAY-OFFS Deseret News article

The following are quotes from an article from the Deseret News about the 5A Playoffs:

"Amazing.     Fantastic.     Incredible.      Epic.     Pick your adjective.

One need only to look at the brackets for this year's 5A boys soccer tournament for a few moments to realize it has the potential to be all of those things.

Whether that potential is ultimately realized — or not — will be determined over the next weeks.

But on paper, it's hard not to get extremely excited about this year's tourney.

There is at least one heavy hitter in each of the four bracket pods, and seeing those guys collide with one another — if that eventually happens — should make for wonderful theater."


"The four main favorites are: Two-time defending champ Brighton, Brighton's archrival, Alta, Region 1 champion Davis and Region 3 champion Copper Hills.

The two secondary favorites both come from Region 1, as Fremont and Viewmont could easily make serious noise in the postseason."

Then later in the article:  "Of course, Viewmont and Fremont will hope to have something to say about that. Viewmont, a two-time semifinalist, will potentially meet Brighton in the quarterfinals, while Fremont, a winner of 10  (11 now) straight, will potentially meet Copper Hills in the quarterfinals."

Fremont 4 - West 2

From the Standard Examiner (never mind that they thought we played Murray!)   "At Plain City, the Silver Wolves overcame a goal in the first two minutes to score the next four and pick up the win.

Corey Craynor scored Fremont's first two as the Silver Wolves led 2-1 at halftime. Jordan Prator, who assisted Craynor's second goal, also scored and then Jesse Wilson rounded out the scoring with a penalty kick.

 

Fremont (14-3-0), which has won 11 straight games, will face Region 3 champion Copper Hills in Friday's quarterfinal round in West Jordan."

The pics today all Keepers.  Our keepers played well; West's keeper had to work hard...

Before the playoffs begin...The Standard Examiner's viewpoint

Darts, Silver Wolves primed for 5-A run


By Justin Johnson (Standard-Examiner correspondent)

Last Edit: May 10 2010 - 11:51pm

For both the Darts and Silver Wolves, it was a season that began with high, yet uncertain, expectations.

Neither squad was expected to sit atop the Region 1 boys soccer table at the end of the season, not with league rival Viewmont returning a heavily-experienced squad that had played in the semifinal round of the state 5-A tournament a season ago.

Yet both possessed a belief that they had the potential to play with any team, to compete at the highest level.

With the state 5-A tournament kicking today, Davis and Fremont turned that belief into reality, finishing as the top two seeds in Region 1 play after compiling the best record in each school's history.

"Words can't even describe it," said Davis senior forward Casey Black, who has blistered the back of the net 26 times this season to lead 5-A in scoring. "To be 15-1 in the regular season, and the leading scorer; to put those words in the same sentence is amazing."

The Darts (15-1-0), who will host Cottonwood today at 4 p.m. in the first round of the tournament at Angel Street Soccer Complex, have simply been at the top of their game from the first day of the season.

Davis leads the state in winning percentage (.938), most goals scored (61), fewest goals allowed (3), goal differential (+58), shutouts (13), and in the mix was a 970-minute shutout streak -- the second longest in state history.

"Last year, we had amazing talent, but I think we have better chemistry this year," Black said. "This year we're not all the best, but we're all ready to play. We're all friends, and we go out and fight for each other."

The bedrock of Davis' success this season is its 10 seniors, and their desire to finish their careers on the highest not possible.

"(Our seniors) bring this belief that they can play with anybody," Davis coach Soulivanh Phongsavath said. "I think that was the question mark at the start of the season, 'how good were we going to be?'; and they never doubted, and carried on that to the other boys on the team."

While Davis ignited early, Fremont struggled to find its legs over the early quarter of the season.

The Silver Wolves were just 2-3 after five games, including a blistering 5-0 loss to the Darts on the road.

When Fremont finally gained traction later that week, those struggles were quickly fading memories in the rearview mirror.

"We started the season out really slow, but we're starting to learn the system a little bit more and getting used to playing with each other," Fremont coach Bryan Gines said. "Right now they're playing well."

Playing well might be a bit of understatement.

Fremont (13-3-0) will carry an 11-game winning streak, a tear that has included handing Davis its only loss, into today's first-round playoff game in Plain City, with the Silver Wolves set to host West at 4 p.m. today.

"We just didn't give up; that's important," Fremont forward Corey Craynor said. "We just need to come out and ping the ball around, and I think we can be pretty good; we want to win this first round."

Fremont has a 30-8 goal differential, and shut out Weber, Viewmont and Davis during its winning streak.

Viewmont (12-4-0) is Region 1's No. 3 seed and will travel to Murray, while Weber (10-6-) is the fourth seed and will travel to Region 2 champion Granger.

Syracuse (6-8-2) is making its first state tournament appearance and will face two-time defending 5-A champion Brighton today.

Fremont 2 - Roy 1

"At Plain City, the Silver Wolves edged past the Royals to capture their 11th consecutive victory.

Fremont had several seniors sit due to injuries and the Royals battled to the end.

Jesse Wilson scored on a long power shot early in the second half, but Roy answered with a goal 67th minute by Dugan Brunker.

In the first overtime, Alec Stimpson crossed the ball to Wilson who scored the game-winner.