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Ogden • Class 2A West champion St. Joseph defeated fourth-seeded Maeser Prep 3-0 in a first-round boys soccer playoff game Wednesday.
After having a particularly rough afternoon controlling the ball, Jayhawk senior captain Cayden Jones capped his team's victory with a 30-yard free kick in the 74th minute.
"I wanted to put this game out and show my team that we could finish this thing," Jones said. "I saw the goalie off of his line, so I was like 'I'm going to put this back post' … and it worked. Being able to make an impact after having a frustrating game like that, it's so satisfying to know that I did something for my team."
"I thought we had good performances from most of the team; for example, the second goal was from our left-back," St. Joseph coach Derek Tate added. "That's the kind of way we play. We keep doing the basics, we don't let people turn and attack us and we keep the ball wide … and what can you say about that free kick? [Jones] does it time and time again."
After the loss, Maeser Prep senior captain Jaem Bueno didn't mince words.
"It's devastating" Bueno said.
The Lions were the first Maeser team to qualify for a state soccer tournament, a fact not lost on coach Dustin Simmons.
"We had never been here before, but we really thought we were going to make more of a game of it and make a deeper run," Simmons said. "But a lot of these guys are going to be back next year and they're going to be hungry. We'll get back into it, get bigger, stronger, faster, work on our touch and be back next year."
Next up for the Jayhawks will be Wasatch Academy, who defeated Delta 6-3 in another first-round game. St. Joseph will host Wasatch at 1 p.m. Saturday.