After finishing second in the highly competitive 2A East region, the Emery Spartans boy’s soccer team will meet Summit Academy, the No. 3 seed from the North region, in the opening round of the state tournament Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. in Castle Dale.

The Spartans ended a highly successful 2017 campaign with a 9-3 region record, just two games behind Manti for first. The second place finish means home field advantage in the opening road, and possibly the second if things fall into place.

“I’m extremely proud of the boys and the way they have played,” said head coach Troy Winter. “Every year for the last four years we have continued to get better. They set out with a goal this year, and with the home game we have reached half that goal.”

Emery has established the identity of being a defensively sound team. Led by goalkeeper Tayvan Cook, the Spartans allowed just nine goals in 12 region games. The incredible defensive consistency ranks second to South Summit from the North region. In 15 total games the Spartans have recorded nine shutouts.

Despite using their defense to work their way up the 2A rankings, the Spartans have also been lethal offensively at times. Four times the team has scored five or more goals in a game, including region wins over North Sevier and South Sevier. The group has been led by Juan Caicedo and his team high 16 goals.

“We’ve look at different scenarios and I don’t see a team in front of us that we can’t beat if we play our best soccer,” said Winter. “When these guys are playing at their best, we are one of the best in the state. I think a state championship is a very tangible goal, and we can accomplish it.”

While Emery will have home field on their side in the opening round against the Summit Academy, the Bears pose a very difficult task as a non-traditional No. 3 seed. Finishing 9-3 in region and 10-4 overall, Summit Academy fell just one-point shy of the No. 2 seed in the 2A North standings. Allowing just 13 goals throughout the year, the Bears developed one of the largest plus/minus differentials in the classification.

An Emery wins mean the team will move on to face either Millard or St. Joseph in the quarterfinals on May 6. Location of that game is dependent on which seed advances. A loss would bring an end to the season.