The Emery Spartan soccer club ended their historic run towards a State Championship with a loss in the semi-finals against the eventual runner-up Morgan Trojans at Juan Diego High School.
The Spartans finished the season 8-10 and were the No. 13 team in the final RPI. The ranking did not mean much as the Spartans shut out both the No. 4 team, Grand and No. 12 Richfield on their way to the semis.
“At the beginning of the season our goal was coming into the the year to get past that first round, you know that first play-in game or playoff game, that was our goal. I’ll be honest, kind of early in the season I wasn’t as optimistic as I was towards the end of the season. I was trying to figure out to find that balance, and to find that high point for us, and these boys kicked in right at the right time”, coach Troy Winter stated in an interview with Drive Time Sports.
Below is a recap of the 2021 season:
March 10- Richfield- Loss 2-2 (5-4 in shootout)
In their first region match of the season the Spartans faced off against the Richfield Wildcats on the road.
The game started out pretty quietly for the Spartans as they allowed the Wildcats to score one goal in the first half. In the second half the Spartans would find offense scoring two goals and allowing Richfield to score as well would put the game into a 2-2 tie in double overtime.
Emery would fall to the Wildcats 5-4 in a shootout.
Beau Cook and Jesus Ayulla each scored a goal for the Spartans.
March 12- Union- Win 4-3
After the game with Richfield the Spartans headed south for a tournament in St. George playing three games in two days the first of which was against Union from Roosevelt.
Scoring two goals in the first half and two more in the second, the Spartans would go on to take the win in the match 4-3 with three Spartans scoring a goal each.
March 12- Pineview- Loss 2-0
In the second game of the day the Spartans faced the Panthers of Pineview.
Pineview scored on goal in each half and Emery was unable to find the back of the net losing the contest 2-0.
March 13- Morgan- Loss 6-0
In the final game of the weekend the Spartans played the Morgan Trojans. Morgan entered the game 2-1 on the season.
The Trojans jumped out early score three times in the first half and then three more times in the second half all he while shutting down the Spartan offense.
March 16- South Sevier- Win 5-4
This was the second region contest the Spartans have had already this season. On March 10, they battled Richfield to a 2-2 tie, but fell 5-4 in a shootout.
In Tuesday’s match with the South Sevier Rams the Spartans jumped out to an early 3-0 halftime lead. The Rams would fight back to score three goals in the second half and Emery would counter with two more to secure the lead and move their record to 3-2-1.
Kaden Westenskow, Tayvan Guyman, Carsen Childs, Colten Childs and Jesus Ayulla all scored goals for the Spartans in the victory.
For the Rams it was Caleb Jenkins, Julio Djuses and Blake Vellinga with one goal each.
March 18- Carbon- Loss 3-1
It was really a tale of two halves as the Spartans seemed to lay claim to the first half and Carbon the second.
In the first half the Spartans seemed to move the ball freely about the field with little resistance from the Dinos. Carsen Childs would score the lone goal for Emery in the contest on a play where the Dinos seemed out of sorts and Childs swooped in to put the ball in the back of the net.
Moving in to the second half the Dinos would become a scoring machine. They moved the ball around the field with great foot work and finding the open man scoring three goals in the second half to seal their first win of the season. The trio of Joe Morley, Eli Beecher and Noah Bradford were responsible for the Carbon scoring.
March 23- Grand- Loss 3-0
The Spartans welcomed the Region 12 leading Grand Red Devils to Castle Dale on Tuesday. The Red Devils entered the contest a perfect 4-0.
The Spartans were coming off a loss to Carbon and headed back on the pitch looking to get back in the win column.
The Red Devils came out firing scoring all three goals in the first half and shutting down the Spartans.
March 25- South Sevier- Win- 3-0
The Emery Spartans faced the South Sevier Rams for the second time this season. Back on the 16th of March, Emery took a 5-3 victory. Thursday the venue changed but the outcome was the same a Spartan win 3-0 in Monroe.
The Spartans are sitting on a 3-4 record with a 2-2 Region 12 mark, with two wins against South Sevier and losses from Carbon and Richfield, Emery only has a couple of non-conference games left as they prepare for the second half of the season.
Alex Noriega was responsible for two goals in the Spartan win. Beau Cook added the other. Kolten Curtis and McCoy Allinson shared the goal tending duties and each would share the shutout.
March 29- Uintah- Loss 4-1
Uintah has a 3-4 record playing out of Region 5 in the 4A class. The Utes and Spartans have not faced off recently but have played a common opponent in the Union Cougars. Uintah in their first contest of the season shutout the Cougars 4-0 and Emery defeated Union 4-3 just three days later.
Jesus Ayulla would score the lone goal for the Spartans in the first half. Ayulla has put three into the back of the net this season.
The Utes put up one goal in the first half and three in the second. Derek Mansfield, Rhett Christophersen, Kael Calder and Jorge Angulo each scored a goal for the Utes in the win.
The Spartans now have a 3-6 overall record and a 2-3 region record.
April 1- San Juan- Win 7-0
The Emery Spartan soccer team traveled to Blanding on Thursday to face the San Juan Broncos. The Broncos who are winless on the season didn’t put up much of a fight against the Spartans, as Emery scored at will taking the 7-0 win.
Coming off a loss on Monday to Uintah, the Spartans we’re looking to get back on track against San Juan. Sitting on a 3-3 record in Region 12, Emery has just one non-conference match left with North Sanpete on Monday and then they will finish out their remaining conference schedule before the playoffs start on April 30.
The Spartans jumped out to a four goal halftime lead. The scoring would continue in the second half as they would add three more goals and defensively pitch a shut out in goal. This marked Emery’s second shutout win of the season, the first coming on March 25 against South Sevier.
April 5- North Sanpete- Loss 2-1
Emery School District is on Spring Break this week but the Spartan soccer squad had one more game before they could start theirs. On Monday they welcomed in the North Sanpete Hawks from Region 14. After two halves of soccer the Spartans were on the losing side of the 2-1 final.
North Sanpete sits at 4-3 on the 2021 season, three spots back from the Delta Rabbits who sit in the top conference spot.
North Sanpete came out in the first half scoring two goals. The Spartans would hold them scoreless in the second half but, were only able to find the back of the net once in the contest.
Emery (4-7 overall and 3-3 in region) will now get some time off, they won’t take to the field again until April 13 when they will face Richfield in Castle Dale.
April 13- Richfield- Win 2-0
The Emery Spartans soccer club used what Alex Noriega gave them to move to 4-3 in region play when they traveled to Richfield on Tuesday to take on the Wildcats. Noriega scored both goals and the defense held Richfield scoreless to take the 2-0 win.
The Spartans hold a 6-7 record and currently sit in the No. 13 spot in the Utah High School Activities Association RPI rankings. The Spartans have three games remaining on the season before the playoffs begin on April 30.
This was the second time this season that these two teams have faced off. Back on March 11 in the first game of the season the Wildcats got the better of the Spartans with Richfield getting the win in an overtime shoot out.
The contest on Tuesday started out quietly as both teams headed into halftime 0-0. In the second half, Alex Noriega would find the back of the net twice for the Spartans, scoring his fifth and sixth goals of the season.
April 16- Carbon- Loss 3-0
Emery sits in the No. 13 spot in the RPI at 6-8 overall and 4-4 in region play, with wins against Richfield, San Juan and a season sweep of South Sevier.
The first goal of the game was scored on a penalty kick by Noah Bradford, who scored his seventh goal of the year. In the second half Eli Beecher would get his eight goal of the year after getting one just past the fingertips of the Spartans goalie. Merrick Morgan would bang home his second goal of the season off a throw in from the corner by Max Lancaster. Zac Chappell registered an assist as well.
Defensively Dax Humes earned his third shutout of the season.
Up next for the Spartans, they have just two contests left on their schedule. On Tuesday the welcome in the San Juan Broncos on what will be Senior Day for Emery. Back on April 1, the Spartans took care of the Broncos 7-0 in Blanding. They end the season on April 22 in Moab when they face the Grand County Red Devils. Game time for the San Juan contest is 4 pm.
April 20- San Juan- Win 5-0
The Emery soccer squad earned the season sweep of San Juan on Tuesday as they celebrated the teams Seniors in their final home game. The Spartans scored five goals from five different players and defensively posted a shutout in the 5-0 victory.
The Spartans sit at 7-8 overall and 5-4 in Region 12 play on the season and hold the No. 13 spot in the state RPI rankings that will be used to set seeding when the playoffs start next week.
The Spartans came out scoring just goal in the first half but would then go on to find the back of the net four times in the second half pushing the score 5-0 and solidifying the win for Emery.
Colten Childs, Carter Huntington, Marko Ilijic, Beau Cook and Carsen Childs all registered goals in the contest for the Spartans. Defensively, Emery collected their fourth shutout this season.
Emery has just one game remaining in the regular season on Thursday on the road in Moab to face the Grand County Red Devils. Grand is the No. 2 team in the 3A Class with a 9-0 record this season. On March 23, the Red Devils were in Castle Dale and took the 3-0 victory.
April 22- Grand- Loss 4-0
Emery soccer traveled to Moab on Thursday to face the undefeated Grand County Red Devils in the final match of the regular season. Unable to generate any offense the Spartans lost the contest to Grand 4-0.
Coming off a 5-0 win over San Juan on Tuesday, the Spartans struggled to find the back of the net for the second time in their last three games. Grand came out firing in the first half, scoring three goals and would put one more between the pipes in the second.
Emery heads into the playoffs at 8-8 overall and 5-5 in Region 12 play. Alex Noriega led the Spartans with eight goals in the regular season, Jesus Ayulla collected five and Carsen Childs and Beau Cook each recorded three.
May 5- Grand- Win 1-0
The No. 13 Emery Spartans followed a trend of upsets in the second round of the 3A State Championship Tournament as they defeated No. 4 Grand 1-0 Wednesday afternoon in Moab.
Emery head coach Troy Winter preached defense and control in the days leading up to Wednesday’s matchup. His team stuck to the game plan and stifled a potent Red Devils offense that average over three goals per game throughout the season.
Alex Noriega broke a scoreless tie in the first half as he found the back of the net to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. The go-ahead goal was all Emery needed as the defense remained in control, giving Grand just its second loss of the season.
Koalton Curtis was responsible for the shutout at goalie as Emery held an opponent scoreless for the fourth time this season.
Grand entered the 3A State Tournament as Region 12 champions. The Red Devils outscored its opponents 43-1 en route to a 10-0 record, including two wins over the Spartans.
Emery’s win over Grand was one of four upsets in Wednesday’s wild second round. No. 14 Summit Academy defeated No. 3 Manti 1-0 in perhaps the most surprising finish of the day. No. 12 Richfield earned a 2-1 victory over No. 5 Grantsville and No. 10 Juab topped No. 7 Carbon in a shootout thriller.
May 12- Richfield- Win 1-0
The Spartan soccer team traveled to Richfield to take on the Wildcats for the third time this season on Wednesday. This time around, a win means moving on in the 3A State Championship Tournament, and a loss would mean that the season was over. Luckily for the Spartans they are the former after posting their second shutout of the playoffs 1-0 and will play another day.
Coming off the upset last week of No. 4 Grand, the Spartans were in familiar territory taking on another opponent from Region 12 in the Wildcats. They split the season series after losing a thriller on penalty kicks in the first outing. Emery was victorious in their last meeting in Castle Dale 2-0.
The lone goal for the Spartans came in the first half off of the foot of Jesus Leon and the Emery defense did the rest. Coach Troy Winter has preached defense all post season and the Spartans have answered the call on both occasions.
The Spartans will now face another team they have played once before this season in the No. 1 Morgan Trojans. On March 13 ,the two met in St. George at a tournament at Dixie High School with Morgan taking the 6-0 win.
Morgan’s journey to the semi-finals started with an 8-0 win over No. 17 American Leadership Academy. On Wednesday they defeated No. 8 South Summit 6-0.
The two teams will be back on the field on Monday May 17, at Juan Diego High School at 3:30, where the final four teams left standing in 3A will be whittled down to two. If Emery wins, they will face the winner of the Judge Memorial/Delta contest the next day May 18 at Rio Tinto Stadium for the State Championship.
May 17- Morgan- Loss 4-0
The Emery soccer team continued their run in the 3A State Championship Tournament on Monday when they faced the No.1 Morgan Trojans at Juan Diego High School in Draper. Their incredible post season ended after being shutout, 4-0.
After receiving a bye in the first round, the Spartans were part of the crazy second round where four upper seeds lost. In that round, Emery defeated the No. 4 Grand Red Devils, 1-0. Round three would bring up a contest with another region opponent in the No. 12 Richfield Wildcats, beating them in shutout fashion as well, 1-0.
The semi-final match-up with No.1 Morgan wasn’t the first time they faced the Trojans this season. Back in March at a tournament in St. George, the Spartans fell in their meeting, 6-0.
The Spartans could not break the Trojan defense on Monday afternoon as they were unable to get the ball into the back of the net. The Trojans added one goal in the first half and then three more in the second half, sending Emery home ending their season.
Rory Williams, Owen Tolman, Cole Terry and Isaac Lowder all scored for Morgan. The Trojans now move on to play Judge Memorial for the State Championship.
The Spartan soccer season comes to an end in the semi-finals of the 3A State Championships. Emery ended the season 9-10 overall with a 5-5 record in Region 12 play. They entered the post season at No.13 in the final RPI and definitely proved that they were better than a number finishing as one of the top four teams in the state.
The semi-final match with Morgan marked the furthest that the Soccer Club has ever advanced in the State Playoffs.
Looking forward to next season coach Winter sounds very hopeful.
“I don’t ever want to look past the seniors that we had because they have been very instrumental, but when I look at the depth that we’ve got and the boys that are coming in and the players that they are, I’m still very excited.
Below is the interview with Emery soccer coach Troy Winter: