San Juan girls soccer ties Grand County but suffers loss in Richfield

The San Juan High School girls soccer team welcomed the rival Grand County Lady Red Devils to Blanding for a homecoming match on Tuesday, September 15.

Coming into the contest, the Lady Broncos had two wins and four losses while Grand was 1-3 on the year.

The tilt lived up to its rivalry billing when the teams combined for four first-half goals. Neither the hosts nor visitors could muster a tally in the remaining time though, and the two Region 12 opponents battled to a 2-2 final.

Seniors Shae Nielson and Emily Jacobsen scored for San Juan with junior Elizabeth Pugh picking up an assist. Emilie Palmer made 21 saves in the tie.

It was the first meeting between the two rivals. They’ll close out their season series in Moab on Thursday, October 1.

The Lady Broncos hit the road for Richfield on Thursday, September 17 to take on the 6-5 Lady Wildcats in another Region 12 matchup. Richfield was coming off a 10-0 win over South Sevier on Tuesday.

San Juan kept pace early, playing to a 1-1 tie after one half. But the Lady Wildcats were a handful in the second, putting up five goals while shutting down the Lady Bronco offense on the way to a 6-1 win.

Jacobsen scored the lone San Juan goal in the game. Despite the six goals against, Palmer was once again outstanding in the Lady Bronco net with 23 saves.

The loss dropped San Juan to 2-5-1 overall and 0-4-1 in Region 12. The girls are 14th in the most recent Utah High School Activities Association RPI.

They’re set for a couple more home region matches this week against #6 Carbon on Tuesday, September 22 and #10 Emery on Thursday, September 24.