It didn’t take long for the Buhach Colony High boys soccer team to light up the new scoreboard. Just two minutes after running out of the tunnel during pregame introductions, Aaron Guzman recorded the historic first goal ever as Buhach Colony officially opened its new on-campus stadium with the first games played on the field as the Thunder hosted Delhi in boys and girls soccer on Monday.

 

The Buhach Colony band was there to play the National Anthem, the cheerleaders were on hand, the concession stands were open and there was a good crowd filled with students, parents, staff and fans. The school even showed off the video scoreboard that was able to show live shots from the field. 

“We had a great stadium opening ceremony on Thursday, and we just imagined what it would look like with the stands filled with the crowd and the athletes on the field,” said Buhach Colony principal Kyle Mesa “I am impressed, even driving up to this thing, I parked and looked up and  the video board is up and running, the scoreboard is running, it just exceeded my expectation. It's a beautiful stadium...This stadium doesn't feel like a high school stadium. To me. It feels like a collegiate type, professional type, atmosphere.”

The Thunder boys were tabbed to play the first game ever in the stadium and they played Delhi to an exciting 3-3 draw that went down to the final seconds. Guzman will be the answer to a future trivia question as the first player to ever score a goal in the new stadium. Teammates Ethan Quintana and Jaiden Rodriguez also scored goals. 

 

Making sure to capture elements from the historic first night of games, Buhach Colony athletic director A.J. Abril made sure to take team photos after the game and had Guzman, Quintan and Rodriguez sign the game ball that will be displayed at the stadium.

Rodriguez said the team felt honored to be chosen to play the first game. “It’s a special moment to get us all out here on this field to be remembered for all time, especially to have the goals that we all had,” Rodriguez said.

 

Guzman was fired up to score the first goal. He said he was blown away by the atmosphere of the first game. “I just love how they made the stadium,” Guzman said. “I love the environment with all the students.” Quintana agreed, saying the team has been waiting for this opportunity.  “It’s been a long process from when I was a sophomore until now my senior year,” Quintana said. “I’m just really grateful for the field and everyone who put in the effort to make this. I want to thank everyone who contributed to this field and we’re going to have a bunch of great games here, catch some more dubs and hopefully make a run in the playoffs.”

 

The girls played the nightcap of the doubleheader against Delhi and dominated on their way to a 6-0 victory to celebrate the first Thunder win in the new stadium. Abril had the team all sign the game ball that will also be stored in the new stadium. Buhach Colony’s Sofia Alcorn put on a show, scoring four goals in the game. The Southern Utah University-bound senior scored the first goal 14 minutes into the game. 

 

“It was a great team effort, I think for the team this whole game was so memorable,” Alcorn said. “The goals will definitely be memorable because I’ve been waiting for this since my freshman year so it’s very exciting. I didn’t really know what to expect because we’ve never really had a stadium, but I thank everyone who put their effort into making this happen for all of us. They did a really amazing job and it’s better than any of us could have expected. I mean, it’s beautiful.”

Teammate Taylor Martin scored the two other goals against the Hawks as the Thunder improved to 7-5 this season. Buhach Colony girls coach Richard Howard said there’s definitely a different atmosphere playing in a stadium than their previous home games on the back field. It’s definitely different,” Howard said. “It feels awesome to have an actual home. I think coach (Kevin) Navarra said it best during ribbon-cutting night when he said, ‘This is our home. We finally have something to be proud of to call our own.’ I share those same feelings, this is ours now.”

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.