Lady Bronco soccer season ends with tough loss in state first round

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School girls soccer team entered the 2025 2A Utah State Tournament this past Wednesday, October 15 as the 12th seed.
They were looking for a big upset win against #5 Rowland Hall when they traveled all the way up to Salt Lake City to face the Lady Winged Lions.
The Lady Broncos were 9-9 in the regular season and their opponents came into the match with a 9-6 overall record.
San Juan battled hard, but a trip to the state quarterfinals was not in the cards. Rowland Hall scored one goal in the first half and added another in the second to down the Lady Broncos 2-0.
It’s always tough to have your season end prematurely, but San Juan has numerous reasons to hold their heads high after an outstanding campaign.
Their nine wins this season is the most in program history for one season. The team continues to improve under the direction of Courtney Hurst and they will only lose two players to graduation.
The leading scorer this season was sophomore Ari Adams who netted 14 goals. Senior Evie McCullough scored nine goals, and fellow senior Brinley Jones hit the back of the net seven times. Freshman pair Ellie Beck and Tavarie Johnson scored four goals each this season. Junior Oaysis Nielson scored two.
The rest of the goal scorers for the Lady Broncos all got one apiece, including freshman Nadiia Krukovska, sophomores Eveila Knight and Jaynie McNaughtan, and juniors Brooklyn Pincock and Colee Crofts.
Players score two points for a goal and one for an assist, so Adams led the team with 28 points. McCullough collected 19, Jones tallied 14, and Johnson and Beck got eight apiece.
Colee Crofts was amazing between the pipes for San Juan this season. The junior goalkeeper made 156 saves, an average of 8.7 per game. She only allowed 26 goals on the season for a goals against average of 1.44. Her 156 saves is currently seventh-most in the state.
The Lady Broncos will bid farewell to Evie McCullough and Brinley Jones, but all the rest of the players have the option to return in 2026. The future is most definitely bright for San Juan girls soccer.