2A boys' soccer: Layton Christian downs Millard to earn shot at first state crown

Draper • Layton Christian booked its first trip to the Class 2A boys' soccer state championship game Friday afternoon by scoring two goals late in the first half before running away in the second half to upend top-seeded Millard 4-1.

Senior attacker Marcelo Holanda scored the winning goal in the 37th minute, registered an assist on one off a corner kick in the 64th minute and scored the Eagles' final goal in the 71st minute as Layton Christian outshot Millard 30-9 on the windy field at Juan Diego High. Holanda said that it's special to be playing for the school's first state title in his first year wearing an Eagles uniform.

"I love [the feeling]," Holanda said about playing in Saturday's final. "Our school has never had a championship at state, so it just feels great. This is my first year here. Sadly I'm a senior, so I'm not going to be here next year. But if feels great getting to get this team to the championship this year. I love it."

Millard, which was the top seed in the 2A South with a 15-1 record, took the lead in the 18th minute when forward Alex Wall hopped on a ball fed from the midfield. Wall split the two LCA center backs and sidestepped the goalkeeper before finishing in front of an empty net.

After struggling to put shots on frame early in the match, LCA responded in the later stages of the first half by putting up several shots from distance while the wind was at its back. After relentlessly testing the Millard keeper, LCA finally got on the board in the 34th minute thanks to leading goal scorer Sebastian Amengual.

"It really opened up the game," Amengual said about his goal. "We were kind of frustrated with the field and our luck on shots. [Millard] just had one chance, and they scored and we couldn't get ours in. After that goal, we kept trying and kept shooting then finally got the goals we wanted."

Holanda scored his first goal just three minutes later to give LCA a 2-1 lead as the Eagles seized the momentum before halftime.

LCA continued to play with precision in the second half, outshooting Millard while making sure that no wind-swept longballs got in behind its back four. A Holanda corner kick led to a goal for Bartomeu Tortella Mestre before Holanda finished the game by going through three Millard defenders to seal the win.

"Waterford and Rowland Hall have always been the kings of the 2A," Layton Christian coach Christopher Tatro said. "We knew we wanted to make it to the 2A championship this year because we know that a lot of these schools are going up to 3A next year. With all these schools going up, we figured that if we were going to prove something, this would be the year. Before they all leave, we wanted to be in that final dance. We're blessed and happy to be there." —

Layton Christian 4, Millard 1

R Layton Christian outshoots Millard 30-9, including 15-5 in shots on goal.

• All three of Layton Christian's top goal scorer's — Sebastian Amengual (15 goals), Marcelo Holanda (14) and Bartomeu Tortella Mestre (11) — score to send the Eagles to their first Class 2A soccer final.

• LCA improves its goal differential to plus-62, having scored 83 goals while conceding 21.

Class 2A state title game

Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium

11 a.m. • South Summit vs. Layton Christian