JDCHS girls and boys lacrosse teams among state’s top three
May 08, 2023 09:03AM ● By Catherine Garrett
Juan Diego Catholic High School sophomore Olivia Prosper, who was a First Team All-State defender a year ago, averages eight goals a game this season for the second-ranked JDCHS squad. (Photo courtesy Shaun Judd)
The Juan Diego Catholic High School girls lacrosse team is ranked second in 4A so far this season while the boys squad is third.
Girls
First-team All-State player Olivia Prosper has already scored 48 goals this season in just six games to lead the Soaring Eagle squad. The sophomore also leads the team in assists. Also contributing heavily on offense is senior Julie Holly with 20 goals on the year.
The team defeated East 20-5 to begin spring play behind 11 goals and two assists from Prosper. After a 21-4 loss to Bingham, Juan Diego has won four straight, including wins over Green Canyon 16-11, Springville 19-13, Highland 11-10 and Waterford 17-16, before losing to Judge Memorial 18-16 and Wasatch 20-10.
“The majority of our team are very new players,” said head coach Shaun Judd. “They have, and are continuing to work hard on learning the finer details of the game.”
The JDCHS team will also play Ridgeline, Mountain Crest, Logan, Waterford and Cedar Valley in the regular season.
Also on the JDCHS team are seniors Amy Caton, Annette Rodriguez and Kanori Watanabe; juniors Sierra Clark, Sam Horner, Alex Moreno, Maimiti Paroto and Mia Perez-Ventura; sophomores Sarah Azar, Hope Lowery and Futaba Tomae; and freshmen Penny Avalos, Jocelin Diaz, Ella Fortune, Hannah Haney, Kaitlin Hulverson and Gabby Pappas.
“I am seeing a forward progression at every game,” Judd said. “I feel we could be in the playoffs if we can come together as a team, continue the hard work and avoid injuries.”
Boys
The third-ranked boys squad was 5-4 at press time behind the play of senior long stick middle Jacob Anderson, who was First Team All-State a year ago, and Second Team All-State goalie Austin Lund, who is a junior.
“They’ve been our best players this year. As a team, we’ve had some flashes of great chemistry and commitment to our systems,” said head coach Greg Stamatov. “In our losses, we have been outmatched physically and skill-wise. We have also dealt with some health issues. We’ll find our way through great team defense and commitment to stick skills and offensive systems.”
Senior Lance Ebner, who was a First Team All-State attackmen last season, is the leading scorer for the Soaring Eagle squad this year with 12 goals and six assists while freshman Noah Schuyler has netted nine goals. Lund has recorded 94 saves in the cage.
Also on the JDCHS squad this season are First Team All-State players Mason Kegel and Josh Funes along with seniors Alijah Bendinger, Matthew Chiazzese, Jacob Cusick, Tommy Filidore, Mateo McCullough, Brayden Ortega and Lucas Slobodnic; juniors Peter Azar, James Curran, Juan Diaz, Zach Drent, Weston Eder, Andrew King, Revan Lee, Angelo Lewis, Liam Pool, Tommy Rock and Aidan Wigton; sophomores William Conley, Ethan Maxedon, Roman Rossano, Miles Sears and Daniel Sosa; and freshmen Zach Apgar, Brandon Backman, Jose Calderon, Nicholas Carvalheiro, Loklan Cruz, Jack Cunningham, Deng Deng, David Hafner, Aidan Janiga, Chris Jimerson, Hunter Landers, Mario Maestas, Michael Moore, Trey Nicolodemos, Cuauhtemoc Pedroza, Colton Pugmire, Sebastian Ramirez and Liam Ross.
So far this season, Juan Diego has wins over Salem Hills 9-2, Ridgeline 9-2, Skyridge 7-6 and Waterford 9-5 while losing to Green Canyon 3-2, Cedar Valley 6-3, Lone Peak 18-3 and Bingham 16-6..
The Soaring Eagle team is also scheduled to face Mountain Crest, Logan, Waterford, Highland and East in the regular season this season. λ