Girls soccer: Thin on numbers, ‘tight’ St. Joseph eager to prove it belongs
Juan Diego shuts out St. Joseph 2-0 in first loss of the fall season
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- St. Joseph’s Sophia Campbell, left, battles, Juan Diego’s Izzy Guernsey, right, during a girls soccer contest at St. Joseph Catholic High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Ogden. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
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- St. Joseph’s Anysia Pinchak, checked on by hear teammates and officials, rests her hands on her head after a hard fall during a girls soccer contest against Juan Diego at St. Joseph Catholic High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Ogden. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
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- St. Joseph’s Lucia Evans, left, steers around Juan Diego’s Riley Brown, right, during a girls soccer contest at St. Joseph Catholic High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Ogden. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
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- St. Joseph coach Tom Evans questions an official’s call during a girls soccer contest against Juan Diego at St. Joseph Catholic High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Ogden. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
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- St. Joseph’s Anysia Pinchak, left, and Juan Diego’s Rebecca Pozzi, right, pictured during a girls soccer contest at St. Joseph Catholic High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Ogden. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
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- St. Joseph’s Sophia Campbell plays the ball in during a girls soccer contest against Juan Diego at St. Joseph Catholic High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Ogden. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
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- St. Joseph’s Caitlin Jones, middle, steers away from Juan Diego’s Izzy Guernsey, left, and Rebecca Pozzi, during a girls soccer contest at St. Joseph Catholic High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Ogden. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
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- St. Joseph’s Addison Doebler fires the ball into play during a girls soccer contest againt Juan Diego at St. Joseph Catholic High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Ogden. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
OGDEN – Tom Evans has coached some small numbers in five seasons as head coach of St. Joseph’s girls soccer program, and this fall is certainly no exception.
The Jayhawks fielded just 13 players in Wednesday’s home opener, a 2-0 shutout loss to 4A Juan Diego for their first loss of the season, in a contest that tested St. Joseph physically and logistically as the bench quickly ran thin.
Juan Diego (2-1) scored twice in the first half via Presley LaHue, slipping the first goal past Jayhawks junior goalkeeper Addison Doebler in the first 20 minutes, and Lexi Wayman with seven minutes to go in the second half. Hardly 10 minutes into the second half, officials called both teams to the sideline for a language warning.
“We kind of played with them quite a bit, and they decided to get physical with us,” Evans said. “I don’t know if it took us out of our game, but it definitely kind of put us on our heels a bit.”
Leading St. Joseph (1-1) along the back line, junior captain Sophia Ortiz and her two first-year ends, Kyla Hansler (concussion) and Sophia Campbell, kept the Soaring Eagle off the scoreboard through the final 40 minutes.
“It’s always been a little bit of a rivalry – but it’s all in good fun,” Ortiz said. “We’re used to the physicality, and it’s good to push our players in the beginning of the season, and it’s nice we have a little break after this. I think we expected to lose by a few more (goals), but we really held out strong, and it was really good.”
Likewise, the second half left Evans somewhat pleased with Wednesday’s result.
“This was a game to kind of find out how the girls can play, how tough are we, how mentally strong are we?” Evans said. “You know, give only 2-nil to that team and really, defensively, stick together, I’m proud of that team.”
The numbers game
Tom Evans considered himself a developer.
With four winning seasons behind him, Evans sets off with a razor-thin roster this month after a concussion to Hansley in Wednesday’s loss, and the departure of two projected starters, now at other schools. He’s also without his eldest daughter, All-Area standout Sofia Evans (56 goals in 2025), soon starring for Division III Puget Sound near Seattle.
Look for senior Anysia Pinchak, scoring two goals in Monday’s 3-0 win over Providence Hall, to follow up that production.
“She’s played all over the place,” Evans said of Pinchak.
“Out of necessity, we had to drop her into the back line for the first part of that half. She was the only one, really, that was dangerous (today), but I think as we play against teams that don’t hold us back as much, she’ll have a lot more opportunities.”
It’s not the end of the family tree, though, as freshman Lucia Evans, the younger sister to Sofia, brings her talents to the midfield and heads up free kick duties through these early matches. Tom also welcomes back junior midfielder Anna Lynn Norman, moving up from center back.
Bruises and scrapes add up, but St. Joseph, historically, has proven itself with considerably small rosters. Last year’s 15-player squad reached the 2A state semifinals with American Heritage. The year before, a 21-Jayhawk team met the Patriots in that very same match, albeit resulting in another narrow loss.
“We work a lot on our team connection,” Ortiz said. “It helps with a coach that knows what he’s doing. We keep it tight in the center, don’t wear ourselves out and take the breaks when we can, and it’s just a lot of team communication. If one player’s hurt or sick or can’t play on the field, we take their position up.”
The pieces are there, but the margin for injuries is small. Evans is working the halls to see whether he can swing a couple of relief players onto his bench next week.
“We’re recruiting a few players,” Evans said. “Right now, we’re just trying to get some (substitutes) out there if we can.
St. Joseph returns to action on Thursday, Aug. 20, at Waterford in Sandy.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
