Boys soccer: St. Joseph starts path to hopeful state title repeat with rout of Freedom Prep
Jayhawks win big despite coaching change before playoffs
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- St. Joseph’s Brock Smith, right, shakes off Freedom Prep’s Isael Sanchez (25) in a 2A second-round playoff game Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Ammon Stanger, left, celebrates a goal with teammate Tomas Paraizo in a 2A second-round playoff game against Freedom Prep on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Gabriel Malics (3) heads the ball in a 2A second-round playoff game against Freedom Prep on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Jonah Sheen (8) advances past Freedom Prep’s David Vargas-Arredondo (1) in a 2A second-round playoff game Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Bento Lima, left, celebrates a goal with teammate Daniel Fontes in a 2A second-round playoff game against Freedom Prep on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Isiah Flores looks upfield against Freedom Prep in a 2A second-round playoff game Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Michel Ramos (7) tries to move past Freedom Prep’s Diego Rubio (23) in a 2A second-round playoff game Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Brock Smith moves the ball against Freedom Prep in a 2A second-round playoff game Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Brock Smith (10) protects the ball from Freedom Prep’s Jerziel De La Cruz (3) in a 2A second-round playoff game Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph’s Michel Ramos (7) possesses the ball in a 2A second-round playoff game against Freedom Prep on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Ogden.
OGDEN — Last year, St. Joseph Catholic High started its playoff run to the boys 2A state soccer championship with a blowout victory over Freedom Prep Academy.
Wednesday, the No. 1 Jayhawks again drew No. 16 FPA in the second round and the results were similar.
St. Joseph advanced to the quarterfinals and took a step toward defending its crown with a time-shortened, déjà vu, 10-1 domination of the Eagles.
With double-digit goals, the Jayhawks possessed early and often, getting their first goal in the eighth minute off the foot of sophomore forward Sebastian Fiederer.
“The biggest part of it was the team connecting the ball and being in the right place at the right time; making the right run and having a good pass from Tomas (Paraizo) and having the composure to finish,” Fiederer said. “It’s important that we got that early goal to send momentum towards us and kill vibes on their side.
“It was almost a jump of clarity; we’re at ease now. We got on the board, the rest will come. Once you get one, the rest are easy,” he said.
The Jayhawks gradually built the lead to 4-0 on a goal by Ammon Stanger in the 23rd minute then, with 10:34 left in the half, they scored five goals in 5 minutes and 59 seconds to crush the visitors and go up 9-0 at the half.
“A lot of it had to do with they gave up. They didn’t see themselves winning,” Fiederer said. “It became fun. It was no longer about ‘I’m blocking, I need to score,’ it was let’s ping the ball around, flick at the ball; weird things. Things like that make it enjoyable. It’s a beautiful game. Get in the flow state.”
It would be arduous to delineate the goals one by one but, in summary, Fiederer and Stanger scored two each, while Daniel Fontes, Gabriel Malics, Brock Smith, Jonah Sheen and Paraizo added one each.
Fontes also totaled three assists, and Paraizo, Malics and Bento Lima had one each for the Jayhawks.
Declan Yarosik scored a goal four minutes into the second the half, off of an assist by Fiederer, which triggered the game being called at the 50-minute mark.
St. Joseph (10-3) started the season 2-3 then raced through the Region 17 schedule undefeated, leading to its No. 1 playoff seed.
There was also a learning curve with new coach Troy Sheen and a tough pre-region schedule.
“We had completely different coaches; completely different staffs. We lost a lot of seniors and brought in a lot of new players who hadn’t played together,” Fiederer said. “But the program itself stayed the same. We focused on the development side, possession side of it. We played bigger schools like Ridgeline and Bear River, against bigger programs to break ourselves down and figure out what to do better and fix it.”
Something the Jayhawks have to fix going forward is another coaching change, as Sheen was let go a week ago — but so far so good Wednesday when Kevin Flores coached his first game.
“(Kevin) came to us and said you guys already have everything you need, I’m just here to give you support because I believe in you,” Fiederer said. “At first we were frustrated but our captains, particularly Isiah (Flores), rallied the team. At the end of the day, you can’t control that. We can control play on the field and it’s important to play for the win. Play for ourselves and everyone around us.”
Kevin Flores said, “I have a bond with the boys; it’s a small community school. I’m not here to take anything away from the boys. They do all the work.”
Several people declined or did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday about why a coaching change was made, but St. Joseph’s players are eyeing another title anyway.
“We have a pretty solid chance of winning it this year again. I think what we have right now is really good. The important thing is the team is still together,” Fiederer said. “We want to win state again to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we’re a good program and we’re still here to play.”