By the slimmest of ways, the Jordan girls soccer team bowed out of the Class 4A state tournament. 

The Beetdiggers, seeded 16th, faced 17th-seeded Provo at home Oct. 5 but came up just short of moving on to the second round, falling in a shootout. Neither team managed a goal in regulation, so the contest extended into two overtime sessions. But the defenses stood tough in those periods too, requiring penalty kicks to decide the winner. 

Provo prevailed but making four kicks to Jordan’s three. 

Losing in such a fashion is never easy, but the Beetdiggers have plenty to be proud of. Jordan went 7-10 this season and 4-8 in Region 10. It was a big improvement over last year’s 3-13 record when Jordan was a member of Class 5A’s Region 8. In 2021, Jordan lost all 17 of games. This year’s seven victories was the most for the program since it went 8-6 in 2019. 

Jordan scored 31 goals this season, with senior forward Samantha Mayo-Gonzalez leading the way with nine. She had three games of two goals, achieving the feat Aug. 10 against Hunter, Aug. 23 at Tooele and Sept. 18 at home against Tooele. Fellow senior forward Kenzie Colunga had eight goals and four assists, while junior forward Abigail Johansen added five goals and three assists. Senior midfielder Tess Joseph and senior forward Julia Willham each had two goals and four assists this season. Goalie June Joseph, just a freshman, had a solid first year for the Beetdiggers. She was credited with five shutouts. She and her backline teammates also had two other games in which the opponent scored only twice. 

Though Jordan still had some rough patches this season, the improvement was evident. The team also had lopsided, dominant wins, including a 5-0 shutout of Tooele and a 4-1 win at Tooele, as well wins of 6-0 and 4-0 over Hunter and Jordan, respectively, in non-league play. Even against some of the better teams in Region 10, the Beetdiggers were more competitive. Jordan enjoyed a four-game winning streak early in the season from Aug. 3–Aug. 14, something the program hasn’t seen in four years. 

Though Jordan will lose several key members of this year’s squad, there is youth in the program, not to mention a renewal of confidence. A total of nine juniors, 10 sophomore and six freshmen were on this year’s roster, so plenty of players could be back in 2024.    λ