High school soccer: Weber puts an end to Fremont’s magical run, advances to second straight 6A championship game

Monday’s first 6A semi final matchup featured two teams with opposing expectations.

The No. 1-seeded Weber Warriors—who had yet to lose a game—would’ve been nothing short of disappointed if they didn’t find themselves advancing as far as the semifinals, and will likely face the same disappointment if they don’t hoist the trophy when it’s all said and done.

On the other end of the spectrum was the No. 21-seeded Fremont Silverwolves — who have acquired nearly half of their total wins this season in the tournament — that had defied the odds and pulled off major upsets against Lone Peak, Westlake and Davis in order to surge their way into the final four.

When the final whistle blew, the Silverwolves were unable to pull off a fourth straight tournament upset and fell to the Warriors by a score of 3-0 at Juan Diego High School. The meeting was the third time the two Region 1 teams had met this season, with Weber winning all three by a combined score of 15-0.

With the win, the Warriors remain undefeated going into the championship game as they look to win back-to-back titles.

Grid View

Like it had been all season, the Weber defense was in prime form, as it gained yet another shutout.

“It’s a big statement and it really shows how much pride we take in our defense,” Weber goalkeeper Stockton Short said. “It helps us win games, so we try our best to keep the shutout and so far we’ve done a really good job of it this year.”

Really good may be an understatement as the Warriors have conceded just two goals all season and unless they concede three goals in the championship game, they will set a new state record for goals allowed in a season.

Although it will not be in the forefront of the minds of Weber’s players as they search for another championship, Short said that securing the record would be a rewarding accomplishment.

“This team has just been something special all year, so to have state records that can come along with it, it’ll just prove how special this team is,” Short said.

The offense was in as good of form as the defense was as it attacked an in-form Fremont backline. Three goals were scored by Braden Bennett (18th minute), Collin Jones (30th minute) and Quayd Berry (77th minute).

All goals were set up by pinpoint crosses — Bennett’s came from a corner kick cross — that illustrated that the Warriors aren’t just defensive giants, but precise attackers as well. Weber’s Colby Lee delivered a highlight-worthy in-swinging cross to set up Jones’ goal.

“We’ve got a lot of really good passers, to be honest. A lot of really good players,” Weber head coach Jan Swift said.

The Warriors and Swift knew they needed to play top-form despite the success it had had earlier in the season against Fremont, given the momentum that the underdogs were carrying into the game.

“This team has just been something special all year, so to have state records that can come along with it, it’ll just prove how special this team is.” — Weber goalkeeper Stockton Short

Swift said he noticed a difference in the Silverwolves, who had seemed to discover themselves in the tournament.

“They had more intensity,” Swift said. “Their ball movement was a lot better and they just looked like a determined team versus when we faced them the first two times.”

The Silverwolves played hard and produced many positive chances, but were unable to score, as many others have, against the state’s top defense.

Fremont’s head coach Fred Smith couldn’t speak highly enough of his team that made such a deep, unexpected run.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Smith said. “They just flipped a switch and realized that hard work and trust is what wins games. It was a great ride, I mean, nobody expected us to be here. I think even some of our own fans didn’t expect us to be here.”

Smith said that he knew his team had it in them to make a run like this, he just was waiting for his players to know it as well.

With the dispatchment of Fremont, Weber will play in the championship game on Friday at 1 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium. Swift said that the experience that some of the members of his team have had playing at the venue, and winning there, will help them as they try to win another title.

“We’ve got to work hard every day and we can’t look past anybody,” Swift said when asked how Weber would prepare for the title game. “It was pretty overwhelming when the boys showed up (in the last state title game), but they know that they need to come ready and they’ve got to focus, play every day, and train every day to really get ready for it.”