St. Joseph girls soccer has stellar season

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The St. Joseph Jayhawks fell to the Millard Eagles in the state semifinals.

OGDEN — With a young team and a new coach, St. Joseph Catholic High School girls soccer surprised everyone with an undefeated regular season, the 2A region championship and a berth in the state final tournament. Although St. Joseph’s lost to the Rowland Hall Winged Lions in a 2-1 fight in the final round of state play, Jayhawks coach Tom Evans couldn’t be prouder, he said.

“This is the farthest we’ve ever gone as a 2A school,” Evans said. The team’s last region title was earned in 2012 and it last took state in 2011; both of these were as a 1A school. This year’s team was composed of two seniors, one junior, six sophomores and eight freshmen, “which is pretty crazy, actually, to go as far as we did,” he said.

After a 7-0 regional performance, the team went into the state tournament with high hopes. Following a first-round bye, the Jayhawks beat the American Heritage Patriots 8-0 at home in the Oct. 15 quarter finals. That day the Patriots had five players out for the game, so “they were a little bit undermanned,” Evans said. “We played really well. We wanted to make a statement going forward so ended up mercy ruling them 8-0, which was kind of cool to avenge the quarterfinal loss from last year [a game the Jayhawks lost 3-2 to the Patriots]. The girls were really excited about that.”

This year’s semifinal game against the Millard Eagles, played Oct. 20 at Juan Diego, “was a battle,” Evans said. “Millard is a great team, so we really possessed the ball and kept possession really well so we could keep them from coming at us.”

Abbie Walker, a senior, made the game’s only goal in the first half “and set the tone for the game,” Evans said. “In the end it was a really good game for the girls to battle and push through and get the win.”

During regular season play, St. Joseph bested Rowland Hall 2-1 for the first time in 14 years at home, but in the state final at the Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, the Winged Lions came out strong and made it difficult for the Jayhawks to break out, Evans said. “They pressed us really high up the field. They played really physically against us and tried to take us out of our game, which they did really well.”

The Winged Lions scored early in the game, the only goal going into halftime. In the second half, after Evans made a couple of tactical changes, the Jayhawks began to pressure their opposition and play started to open up.

“We did get the gametime goal in the 60th minute off a great free kick from our junior Alex Walker on a great shot. We had really pushed hard to get back in it and unfortunately off the very next kick off, 18 second later, they drove down and scored on us to make it 2-1,” Evans said. “So it was a short-lived tie.”

The Jayhawks worked so hard to get back in the game that after they scored there was a quick mental letdown, Evans said, which the Winged Lions used to their advantage to score their second goal. Although the Jayhawks had several near goals, in the end the score stayed steady, and Rowland Hall emerged as the winners when the final whistle blew.

“It just wasn’t our day,” Evans said. “I can’t fault the girls at all; they played their butts off and did everything we asked of them this year. I don’t think anybody expected us to have the season we did or even to be in the final.”

While a few tears were shed over that game, afterward “there was a lot of sense of accomplishment and happiness,” Evans said. “I think everybody is resolved for next year, even the seniors – they were really happy to see us take the next step, and I think they’ll be happy to see how we do in the coming years.”

The team’s two leading scorers were sophomore Abigail Gough and freshman Sophia Evans. Senior Kara Sugiyama, center defender, helped contribute to nine shutouts in 15 games over the season. Cicily Flores, a sophomore, was the goalkeeper. “I honestly think she will be a first-team keeper – we only gave up 13 goals for the season, which was pretty awesome,” Evans said.

Captain Alex Walker, a junior, was also a great contributor, said Evans, who is optimistic for next year’s season.

“What a fun ride it has been; I’m really excited for the future,” he said. “The future of the program is bright. I think all of the girls are resolved to put St Joe’s back on the map as a girls soccer school.”