The Emery Spartan soccer team ended their season on May 1 with a 3-2 loss to the Juab Wasps in the second round of the State Championships.

The Spartans closed out with a 4-11 overall record and a 4-10 mark in region play. Emery earned the No. 12 spot in the final RPI of the season.

Now that the season has ended, Coach Troy Winter had the opportunity to sit down with KOAL’s Drive Time Sports to talk about what he is looking forward to for next season.

“I’m actually very optimistic about it, we’ve got a lot of raw talent, kids that maybe have played a little bit of club ball, but not as many as we’ve had in years past, but a lot of raw talent. Kids who have a very strong heart and a desire to come out and play, they’re good athletes. So I’m actually looking really forward to this next year, you know we’ve got some upcoming freshmen that will be coming in that are going to be expected to carry a load as well, so I’m very optimistic.”

Listed below is a recap of the 2024 season.

March 7- @ Delta

Emery Spartan soccer headed back to the field on Thursday on the road in Delta to face the Rabbits. The Spartans had difficulty finding the back of the net and were shut out 3-0 in the opening game of the 2024 season.

After ending the regular season 7-6 in 2023 earning the No. 9 spot in the RPI and a first-round bye, they fell to Judge Memorial in round two ending the season.

The Spartans came out in the contest with Delta looking to get on the board early but the Rabbits defense wasn’t having any part of it turning them back in the first half, and taking a 1-0 lead at halftime.

The second half was the same: the Rabbits added two more goals and shut the door on the Spartans 3-0.

March 13- vs. Manti

The Emery Spartan soccer team welcomed the Manti Templars to Castle Dale on Wednesday.  After the first half, Emery was down by just one, but the Templars found the back of the net four times in the second to take the 5-0 win.

This was the second loss of the season for the Spartans after being handed a 3-0 loss by Delta last Thursday.

The game with Manti was really all about two halves.  In the first, Emery held the Templars to just one goal slowing them down defensively, as the Templars would take a 1-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Manti found another gear seemingly scoring at will as the Templars made their way around the Spartan defense putting four goals on the board, and handing the Spartans their second loss this season, 5-0.

March 20- vs. Juab

On Wednesday the Emery Spartan soccer squad welcomed the Juab Wasps to Castle Dale. The first half was all Spartans, but in the second half, the Wasps were able to break down Emery’s defense and put three goals on the board to take the 3-2 win.

The Spartans are having a rough start to the early season with the lone win on their record coming at the hands of North Sanpete.

On Wednesday in the contest with Juab, the Spartans were able to keep them off of the board in the first half and found a goal of their own to take the 1-0 lead to halftime.

The second half was all about Juab. The Wasps found the back of the net on three different occasions while turning up their defense to hold Emery to a single goal in the half and claim the 3-2 win.

March 27- @ Carbon

The Carbon Dino soccer team welcomed the Emery Spartans to Price on Wednesday for the first of two region match-ups this season. The Dinos defense kept the Spartans from finding the back of the net as Carbon earned the 4-0 win.

The win moves Carbon to 5-1 this season, and the same mark in Region 12 play.

Both teams entered the contest with different results than their last time out. Carbon was coming off a 4-0 loss to undefeated Manti, and Emery earned a 3-1 victory over Richfield.

Carbon jumped out in the first half putting three goals on the scoreboard while their defense turned the Spartans away at every opportunity. The Dinos took a 3-0 lead into halftime.

The second half of play was more of the same as the Dinos added one more goal and Cannon Mortenson was able to hold on through the period to earn the 4-0 shutout between the pipes.

Tyler Morris found the back of the net for the Dinos along with Logan McEvoy, Sam Dart, and Connor Cunningham who each scored a goal. Case Griffeth, Mason Engar, and Edwin Acosta-Sanchez all collected assists in the win.

March 29- vs. North Sanpete

The Spartan soccer squad welcomed the North Sanpete Hawks to Castle Dale on Friday for a region contest. The Spartans took a one-all tie into the half, but the Hawks found the back of the net once more in the second to take the 2-1 win.

Emery is sitting at 2- 5 overall and in Region 12 play after the loss, and we will know where that lands them this Thursday when the Utah High School Activities Association releases the initial RPI for soccer.

Both the Spartans and the Hawks were able to keep each other honest in the first half as they each found the back of the net once and entered the half with a 1-1 tie.  In the second half, the Spartans were unable to break the North Sanpete defense and the Hawks would put another between the pipes to take the 2-1 win.

Carsen Childs scored the lone goal for the Spartans in the loss.

April 3- vs. Delta

Emery Soccer welcomed the Delta Rabbits to Castle Dale on Wednesday. It was a hard-fought battle and two overtime periods weren’t enough as the game had to be settled through penalty kicks with Delta taking the 6-5 win.

Both teams came out looking for the win as they went into halftime tied at one. They came out looking for an edge in the second half, but no one would budge. Each team found the back of the net again in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

The overtime periods were played the same as both halves ending in a 2-2 tie, Emery and Delta were forced to decide the game on penalty kicks. In the penalty kick phase, the Rabbits came out with the 6-5 advantage taking the win.

Emery slides to 2-6 overall and in Region 12 play. Thursday morning the Utah High School Activities Association released the initial RPI rankings for the 2024 3A soccer season. Manti held the top spot with Morgan landing in second. Carbon, Ogden, and South Summit made up the remainder of the top five with Emery holding the No. 15 spot.

April 10- vs. Canyon View

The Emery Spartan soccer team got on the pitch on Wednesday to face the Canyon View Falcons.  Canyon View was sitting at the No. 5 spot before the game, after the game would be a different story as the Spartans handed the Falcons a 2-1 loss.

The Spartans sit at 3-6 overall and in Region 12 play. Emery also sits in the No. 14 spot of the latest RPI with five games left on the schedule for the regular season, with the first round of the State Tournament starting on April 26.

Emery came out and put up one goal in the first half and carried a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Falcons were able to find the back of the net once, but so were the Spartans as Emery came away with the 2-1 win.

Seth Winter and Rhett Winter both put goals on the board for the Spartans.

April 17- @ Richfield

Spartans soccer traveled to Richfield on Wednesday to face the Wildcats. When these schools get together, regardless of the sport, it’s always a competitive contest, and this one was no different. In the end, though the Spartans came up one goal short taking the 2-1 loss.

Emery is sitting at 4-8 this season overall and in Region 12 play. The removal of the RPI rankings means that the end of the season is right around the corner, and the playoffs start soon.

The teams came out in the first half, and the Wildcats were able to get one past the Spartans taking a 1-0 lead to halftime. In the second half. the Spartans were able to get a goal on the board from the foot of Rhett Winter, but Richfield was able to get one more on the board to get their first victory of the season 2-1.

The final RPI will be released on April 24 as will the bracket for the 3A State Championships. The opening rounds start at home sites on April 26, with the Championship game taking place on May 11 at America First Field the home of Real Salt Lake.

April 19- vs. Carbon

Emery and Carbon met for the final time in the regular season in Castle Dale on Friday. Emery made it a challenging contest taking the Dinos to overtime but falling 2-1, in their final home game of the season.

Emery is sitting at 4-9 overall and in Region 12 play, while Carbon sits at 11-2. The RPI has been removed until Wednesday when the final rankings will be released along with the bracket for the 3A State Championships, which begin on Friday.

The contest between these two teams was a defensive battle with Carbon finding the back of the net in the first half and taking a 1-0 lead into halftime. The second half was all about the Spartans as they were able to even up the score to tie at 1-1 by the end of regulation. In the overtime period, the chess match came to an end as the Dinos found the goal and earned the hard-fought 2-1 victory.

For the Spartans, Seth Winter came up with the lone goal.

For Carbon, Tyler Morris and Edwin Acosta-Sanchez collected both goals scored.

April 23- @ Manti

Emery Spartan soccer closed out the regular season on the road in Manti. The Templars were ranked as the top team in 3A for most of the season. On Tuesday Emery couldn’t get anything going offensively as Manti scored at will, taking the 4-0 win.

Emery ended the regular season with a 4-10 record, and on Wednesday the final RPI was released and Emery finished out in the No. 7 spot.

Manti would jump out and score a pair of goals to take a 2-0 lead by halftime. The second half was a carbon copy of the first as the Templars added two more goals and put the defensive clamps on Emery taking the 4-0 win.

May 1- @ Juab- Opening Round

A furious second-half rally fell just short as the Emery Spartans suffered a season-ending 3-2 loss to the Juab Wasps in the 3A state championship tournament Wednesday afternoon in Nephi.

Trailing 3-0 at the end of the first half, the Spartans managed to chop the Juab lead to one. That was as close as Emery would get, falling to the Wasps for the third time this season.

Carson Childs scored both goals for Emery, running his season total to 11. Seth Winter and Rhett Winter both finished with one assist.

Kash Olsen and Russ Allred both found the back of the net Juab. The third goal for Juab turned out to be a massive Emery mistake as the Spartans put the ball in their own net in the closing minutes of the first half.

The season-ending loss drops Emery’s overall record to 4-11 on the season. The Spartans ended the 2024 season on a four-game losing skid, three of which came by only one goal.

The complete interview with Coach Winter can be accessed using the player below: