High school girls soccer: Lone Peak, Bountiful, Green Canyon, Ogden and Waterford open 2026 as preseason No. 1s

The high school girls soccer season kicks off in one week, and in every classification teams will be chasing familiar faces.

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Three of last year’s five state champs were pegged as the team to beat in their respective classification the 2026 Deseret News preseason coaches rankings — Bountiful, Ogden and Waterford.

The other two, Lone Peak and Green Canyon, were seeded first and second respectively in last year’s state tournaments after dominant regular seasons.

In 6A, Syracuse denied Lone Peak a 3-peat a year ago in the state title game, and with the talent returning on both squads it’s no surprise they’re among the favorites again. Top-ranked Lone Peak must replace its top two goal scorers from a year ago, and it must do so with a small senior class which comes with some question marks.

Bountiful won last year’s 5A state championship despite being the No. 8 seed heading into the state tournament. Even though it must replace 25 goals from last year’s 5A Player of the Year Belle Sorensen, many of last year’s contributors were underclassmen as the Redhawks have all the pieces to chase a repeat.

Green Canyon will open the season ranked No. 1 in 4A as it returns every starter from last year’s 4A quarterfinal squad. Reigning Ms. Soccer winner Chloe Sadler missed last year’s playoffs as she was with the U.S. National Team, but she’s returning to the Wolves for her senior year after tallying 46 goal contributions a year ago.

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In 3A, Ogden was the runaway favorite by the coaches in the preseason rankings. Of the seven Tigers who were voted first or second team all-state a year ago for the state champs, six were underclassman.

Even though Waterford must find a way to replace 50+ goals from a year ago because of graduation, it was still tabbed as the 2A favorite this season as the roster is still loaded with proven goal scorers. The Ravens beat American Heritage in a shootout to win last year’s state championship.

2026 preseason high school girls soccer rankings

Each year, the Deseret News asks every girls soccer coach in the state to vote for the top five teams in their classification. The votes are tallied, and five points are assigned for a first-place vote, four for a second-place vote, etc. Coaches aren’t allowed to vote for their own team. The following are the results from the coaches who elected to participate:

Class 6A

Team 2025 record

1. Lone Peak (18-2)
2. Syracuse (19-3)
3. Davis (11-8)
4. Farmington (12-7)
5. American Fork (11-6)

Others receiving multiple votes: Mountain Ridge, Corner Canyon, Lehi.

Class 5A

Team 2025 record

1. Bountiful (14-5)
2. Olympus (15-5)
3. Brighton (14-6)
4. Timpview (14-6)
5. Spanish Fork (15-6)

Others receiving multiple votes: Alta, Springville, Maple Mountain, Cyprus, West Field, Bonneville.

Class 4A

Team 2025 record

1. Green Canyon (16-4)
2. Ridgeline (17-4)
3. Snow Canyon (18-2)
4. Crimson Cliffs (14-5)
5. Park City (17-4)

Others receiving multiple votes: Desert Hills, East, Mountain Crest, Wasatch, Mountain View, Timpanogos.

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Class 3A

Team 2025 record

1. Ogden (17-2)
2. Morgan (5-12)
3. Manti (14-5)
4. Carbon (17-3)
5. Canyon View (12-7)

Others receiving multiple votes: Grantsville, Logan, Ben Lomond.

Class 2A

Team 2025 record

1. Waterford (18-1)
2. Maeser Prep (14-7)
3. American Heritage (13-7)
4. St. Joseph (12-5)
5. Rowland Hall (10-7)

Others receiving multiple votes: ALA, Draper APA, Beaver, Grand.