BOUNTIFUL -- What a difference a year makes. One year removed from losing to East in the state playoffs, the Bountiful Braves soccer team got revenge on Friday by beating the Leopards 3-0 to advance to the state semi-finals today against Orem. Bountiful was able to send a message to East early in game, when senior Mike Alexander zipped past the defense and blasted a shot to the top left corner of the net, less than five minutes into the contest.

"It takes the pressure offÖit gives you a cushion," Alexander said, discussing the importance of scoring first. "If we don't score first, we don't do that well, but if we do score first, then we've done pretty good."

Less than five minutes later Dalin Petersen directed a great corner kick that was placed right in front of the net for the Braves' second score.

It was difficult to see who exactly deserved credit for the goal. According to Bountiful scorekeepers the ball bounced off sophomore Joe Lake's thigh and bounced through the goal.

"It was awesome, there is no greater feeling," Lake said regarding the emotion of scoring the goal. "It was a set play to the near post that was crossed perfectly, and I just thighed it in. It was kind of a no-brainerÖit was like I couldn't miss itÖit was right there."

The two early goals seemed to take the air out of East and swung all the momentum to the Braves. Assistant coach Paul Campbell said those early scores were key to the Braves victory.

"They were huge and set the tone for the game," Campbell said. "We had to come out and hit fast and we did it. We wanted to score early, we wanted to get on top and stay there and these kids pulled it off. Hats off to them, they did a fantastic job today."

"That took the wind out of their sails," assistant coach Cam Winquist said. "That's so hard, not only as coaches but as players, to re-group from."

The second half was a physical test for both teams. However, Bountiful was able to win most of the challenges, and the possession battle, to keep the Leopards from threatening to score.

With 25 minutes left in the game, Braves junior Jamie Rigby drove home the final dagger putting Bountiful up by three and sealing the fate of East.

Bountiful will now look forward to playing Orem, the number one team from Region 7, who ended the Woods Cross Wildcats' season on Friday. Orem's win eliminated any chance of a Bountiful versus Woods Cross rivalry showdown. The game will be held tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Juan Diego Catholic High School.

Coach Kevin Rigby of Woods Cross said the Braves will have their work cut out for them when they play against the Tigers tomorrow.

"Orem is a very good team," Rigby said. "They've got size, they've got speed, (they're) a very rugged team. They will be a handful (for Bountiful)."

thatch@davisclipper.com