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  "path": "/sports/2026/05/04/high-school-boys-soccer-2a-semifinal-recap/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-04T21:11:23.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.deseret.com",
  "tags": [
    "Maeser Prep 4, American Heritage 0",
    "Rowland Hall 2, Waterford 1"
  ],
  "textContent": "Here’s a recap of Monday’s 2A semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, with No. 1 seed Maeser Prep and No. 3 seed Rowland Hall prevailing to advance to next week’s championship game.\n\n#### Maeser Prep 4, American Heritage 0\n\nAlmost two years to the day, Maeser Prep rolled into the 2A semifinals against American Heritage believing it had a roster to win a state championship. It crashed out of the tournament conceding three goals in the second half.\n\nSince that game, Maeser Prep has been pretty much unstoppable, and now it’s one win away from back-to-back 2A state championships.\n\nThe Lions punched their ticket to this year’s 2A state championship with a dominant 4-0 win over American Heritage on Monday morning at Zions Bank Stadium.\n\nDenzel Sono-Koree gave Maeser Prep the 1-0 halftime lead, and then Donnel Sono-Koree, Noah Johnson and Nate Bowler bagged second half goals with the emphatic 4-0 rout.\n\nMaeser Prep improved to 17-0 on the season with the win, and ran its winning straight to 26 straight dating back to last season.\n\n“I think even more than just last year, it’s been the last several years. For our seniors, this is the fourth year in a row that they’ve gone to the semis. And so they’ve got experience,” said Maeser Prep coach Dustin Simmons. “And so that experience and confidence …. they’re really, really locked in. And I think that makes a big difference for our team.”\n\nWith the win, American Heritage advances to next Monday’s 2A state championship game against the Rowland Hall at 11 a.m. at Zions Bank Stadium.\n\nSimmons believes his midfield and defense set a great tone throughout Monday’s semifinal win.\n\n“When we possess the ball, we’re hard to beat. Our midfield is the best midfield in the state, I think, at our level. And our back line is just phenomenal. I mean, they’re so good,” said Simmons.”Caleb Garner, he’s a senior. He’s the best defender in 2A. He’s so good. And so that gives us a lot of confidence that we can get the ball and we can play out. And then when we possess and play to feet, we’re hard to beat.”\n\nThe Lions opened the scoring midway through the first half during a chaotic section in the box after American Heritage’s keeper misplayed a cross into the box. The clearance only went as far as Maeser’s Tyler Reedy, whose off-balanced shot served as an even better pass to Denzel Sono-Koree who tapped his team-leading 12th goal into the empty goal from just five yards out for the 1-0 lead.\n\nSimmons encouraged his team all game to test the keeper with balls into dangerous areas, and it paid off early in.\n\nIn the second half, the goals came in bunches during a 12-minute stretch that opened the game wide open.\n\nIn the 52nd minute, freshman Donnel Sono-Koree doubled Maeser’s lead as he banged home a cut-back cross from Joe Memmott near the endline.\n\nSix minutes later, Noah Johnson scored his 11th goal of the season on a long-range effort that bounced in off the outstretched arm of American Heritage’s diving keeper.\n\nNate Bowler put a bow on the victory in the 64th minute heading home a rebounded shot that came off the crossbar for the 4-0 lead.\n\nMaeser Prep already beat Rowland Hall this season by three goals, and while that gives Simmons’ team confidence, he’ll remind them that anything can happen in a championship match.\n\n“Playoff soccer is always a whole new thing, right? We’re confident that if we play our game, that things will go our way. We just gotta make sure that we lock in and we play our game for a full 80 minutes.”\n\n#### Rowland Hall 2, Waterford 1\n\nRowland Hall was 22 seconds away from winning Monday’s 2A semifinal in regulation.\n\nUltimately, it still ended up beating Waterford with a double overtime winner, and it’s positive response after that late equalizer was the key.\n\n“To concede there, our message was ‘we’re not down, it’s still 0-0 again,” said Rowland Hall coach Joe Murray. “We weren’t worried, these guys have got a ton of heart.”\n\nThat resiliency paid off just 28 seconds into the second half as Miles Li slipped in behind Waterford’s defense to a through ball from Tatum vonLintel and tucked in the game winner. It was Li’s second goal of the game.\n\n“He’s a top player. He was missing half the season (with injury), so it’s kind of been great to get him back and to give him a chance one-on-one, he’s really going to finish it,” said Murray. “We missed him big time, but you can see how valuable he is now.”\n\nWith the 2-1 victory over Waterford — the same score in their regulation meeting — Rowland Hall advances to face top seed Maeser Prep in next Monday’s 2A championship.\n\nMurray knows his team will have to raise the level even more to compete with the undefeated defending state champs.\n\n“We’ve got to raise our game a lot. But you know, it’s a totally different game, totally different setting. It’ll be back on this field. So we’ll feel good. We feel good about our chances. And we got a week to work on it,” said Murray.\n\nLong before has overtime heroics, Li opened the scoring just 13 minutes into the match.\n\nThe sophomore got to a through ball from teammate Fran Fierro just before Waterford’s on-rushing keeper, getting a simple touch around him and calmly burying the ball into the open net.\n\nOver the next 66 minutes, it was a back-and-forth match with both teams creating their fair share of decent chances, but heading into the final minute Rowland Hall still clung to that 1-0 lead — that is until the final 22 seconds.\n\nAs Waterford frantically pushed forward for the equalizer, it earned a free kick about 30 yards from goal and in a perfect position to whip an in-swinging cross into the box.\n\nThe Ravens executed the free kick perfectly, with Xavi Faraji curling in a dangerous ball toward the far post, with fellow sophomore Caden Judd timing his jump perfectly to head home the equalizing goal with just 22 seconds left in regulation.\n\nSix minutes into overtime, a lightning delay forced a 40-minute weather delay. Less than 30 seconds into the second overtime, Rowland Hall got its redemption with Li’s golden goal.",
  "title": "High school boys soccer: Undefeated Maeser Prep cruises to 2A semis win, will meet semifinal OT winners Rowland Hall in final"
}