Kickin around 2A soccer

When I looked at 2A teams before the season, I felt like St. Joseph had the right ingredients in place to cook up a special season. The Jayhawks returned nearly every contributor from a 10-7 team that reached the 2A semifinals.

But I didn’t foresee the level of domination the Ogden school has achieved.

St. Joseph is one of only two teams in the state still without a tie or a loss (Alta is the other, of course). The Jayhawks moved to 12-0-0 on Monday afternoon with a 7-0 win over Rowland Hall ‘ a match which ended in frightening and sad fashion (as I recounted in an article on this website).

The most amazing part of this spotless run has been the sheer dominance shown by St. Joseph. In six games against 3A competition, the Jayhawks have outscored their opponents 28-2. They are 3-0 against Region 11 in particular ‘ including a 6-1 win over region leader Bear River.

It gets even worse when 2A opponents are factored into the equation. They are 6-0 vs. other 2A teams and have outscored them 57-0 ‘ with the most lopsided result being a 14-0 rout of South Summit.

Aside from a 1-0 win over Ogden, no team has really threatened the Jayhawks and that’s the way they like it.

‘We kind of just like to score goals,’ said freshman forward Ivee Barton, who averages nearly two goals a game to lead the team in scoring. ‘It’s fun. We don’t show mercy, I guess you could say.’

Still, St. Joseph knows the perception out there: They didn’t play anybody. Their classification is weak. Put them in a good 3A or 4A region and they wouldn’t even make the playoffs. That’s one reason why the Jayhawks are stoked about taking on Bonneville next week.

A win over a solid Lakers team would offer some legitimacy to critics who point to their soft schedule and give them a nice test before the 2A playoffs.

‘We’re looking forward to that game [to] show people that we’re no lackey, but that we can compete against anybody.’ coach Alex Salvo said.

My impression is that St. Joseph could have a shot at an undefeated regular season if Bonneville doesn’t trip them up. The other three remaining opponents ‘ Layton Christian, South Summit and ALA ‘ have not done much against the Jayhawks in previous matches.

Probably the only serious obstacle standing between St. Joseph and the 2A title is Millard. And the Eagles are no slouch.

Consider this: Millard has won 28 straight games against Region 12 opponents since the 2A classification was created for girl’s soccer in 2006. And the Eagles have only lost to a 2A opponent twice in the past three years. On both occasions, it was Rowland Hall tripping them up in the state tournament.

St. Joseph’s recent history against Millard has been poor. The Jayhawks have a 1-4 record against the Eagles since 2004 and have lost three straight in the series. Their most recent setback was a 4-0 loss in the 2A semifinal round a year ago.

Millard has one of the most potent offenses in 2A and it is on a level comparable to St. Joseph. The Eagles average 7.1 goals per game, with a large bulk coming from Jessica Wall and Krystin Stevens. That particular duo has combined for 35 goals in nine games so far.

Lyness update:

Carson Lyness, the Rowland Hall defender who was seriously injured in Monday’s match against St. Joseph, is out of the hospital and at home recovering. Lyness was taken from Sunnyside Park by ambulance after a collision with a Jayhawk player caused her to land awkwardly and injure her neck.

The good news is that the neck injury is not as serious as it originally looked from the sidelines. Winged Lions coach Jaime Wilhite told me that she has some strained ligaments, but apparently suffered no spinal injuries. Wilhite isn’t sure if Lyness will return to the field this season.

I’m frankly relieved to hear that she did not suffer a fracture or paralysis. It was the most frightening injury I had ever witnessed in all the years I’ve covered soccer on a high school, collegiate and professional level. I wish Carson a speedy recovery.

Other 2A soccer notes:

Finally I’d like to thank commenter 2danish for bringing an exciting news item to my attention on a previous blog entry.

Gunnison won its first ever soccer game last week, beating Richfield 4-0. The Bulldogs had posted a 0-21-1 record, since starting 2A competition in 2007, prior to that point.

Sarah Neilsen and Fekerte Eskins netted two second-half goals apiece to fuel the victory.