High school soccer: Win or go home

A sense of familiarity permeates the brackets for each classification as the state tournaments get going for girls soccer, starting with first-round games for 5A and 4A this afternoon.

Many of the usual suspects are high seeds. A few of those schools are looking to extend soccer dynasties, while others hope to establish themselves as the team to beat in future seasons.

Here's a glance at each state tournament:

5A: It's no secret Alta remains a near consensus favorite to emerge on top of 5A once again. The Hawks are two-time defending state champions and tallied a 15-1 regular season record while playing one of the state's toughest schedules.

Powering the Hawks is a front line few teams can match. Junior forward Kealia Ohai leads 5A in scoring with 26 goals. Fellow forwards Ashley Jones and Lauren Roundy are equally dangerous scoring threats in their own right. And the Hawks defense is also formidable with Natalie Norris and Morgan Bridge leading the way.

Alta's biggest challenge for title No. 3 might come from the north. Davis rolled through Region 1 with a 15-1 record even after losing senior star Collette Jepson to a broken toe before the season opener.

The Darts climbed to the top behind breakout contributions from talented underclassmen like Kenzie Harrison, Kendra Bailey and Katie Taylor. That trio has accounted for 41 goals in 15 games.

Claiming a region title offered a refreshing outcome to the challenges Davis faced before the season.

"I didn't know how this season would be," Darts coach Souli Phongsavath said. "I thought we would have a lot of growing pains and we'd have to work through them."

Region 4 and Region 2 offer plenty of dangerous teams that could snatch the title from either Alta or Davis. But those teams must survive a brutal first-round pitting them against one another. Timpanogos and Skyline could realistically make deep postseason runs after ending the regular season in strong fashion.

4A: A repeat champion has not come out of the 4A ranks since Mountain View claimed consecutive titles in 2001 and 2002. Orem is good enough to end that trend. The Tigers own one of the state's best defenses — allowing only 0.27 goals per game.

To do it, Orem will have to get past a host of equally strong teams.

Bountiful has rounded into elite form with Monica Okapal healthy again. When Okapal is paired with Felicia Sturgeon up top, the Braves' offense —which produces 3.62 goals per game — has been difficult to stop.