Morgan suffers déjà vu in loss to Ogden
May 16, 2024 11:18AM ● By Brian Shaw
For the Morgan Trojans boys soccer team, they have been the ones to impose their will on other teams.
As luck would have it, Morgan would trample all comers on their side of the 3A state tournament bracket, only to meet Ogden.
“It was unfortunate that us and Ogden got matched up on the same side of the bracket,” said Morgan head coach Seth Wallace. “We all knew that whoever won that game would be the favorite to win the title.”
Ogden isn’t necessarily Newman but to the Trojans, they are in a way that nosy mailman who delivers bad news on the regular.
Morgan lost to Ogden 1-3 back on April 12, handing the Trojans their only blemish in Region 13 play.
Even still, Coach Wallace thought his Trojans were playing just about as perfect a game as you could play in this 3A semifinal game at Zions Bank Stadium through 32 minutes of action—without scoring.
As for Ogden, moments after their midfielder Gerardo Esquivel’s shove in the back of a Trojans player wasn’t whistled as a foul, it was his cross found the feet of Adam Jenks, who slotted his shot inside the post to hand Morgan what would be the game-clincher right before halftime in a 0-1 loss.
“I thought our boys played fantastic. We out-possessed and out-shot Ogden. Very physical game,” said Coach Wallace of a 3A semifinal that saw few fouls whistled. He also avoided rehashing Esquivel’s shove that sent a Morgan player flying out of bounds and immediately led to Ogden’s only goal.
“Unfortunately, we couldn't finish our chances and Ogden finished one of the few opportunities they had to score,” said Coach Wallace, who opted for the better part of valor here.
Still and all, it was a tough way to have to end the season, one that saw the Trojans finish with a 14-3 record overall and a Region 13 championship, added Morgan’s head coach.
“It was really frustrating to once again outplay a very talented team and come up on the wrong side of a 1-0 result. It's happened to us four times in the big games. Soccer is a cruel sport at times. I was so proud of the season we had and how hard we competed every game. Championship or not, Morgan High boys soccer has built a strong legacy. Just sucks we haven't had the breaks go our way in the biggest games.” λ
