Crosby: Still a natural

SPRINGVILLE — Crosby Joyner receives a pass at midfield. Instantly, three defenders converge on her position as she turns upfield. With a quick feint to the right, Joyner finds an opening and threads a long pass downfield to a teammate right as two defenders crash into her. Joyner squeezes free, and within a moment she is striding across the grass as the defense gives chase.

Springville's junior forward has been giving defenses fits ever since she took up soccer. It should be no surprise, however. The surname "Joyner" in Utah Valley has become synonymous with athletic excellence. Wally Joyner, Crosby's father, was an All-Star first baseman for the California Angels. Her mother excels in show jumping competitions with her horses. Her two sisters starred on the soccer field for the Red Devils before moving on to play for Utah Valley State College and then the University of Utah.

"We love to compete," said Crosby of her family's legacy, "Our whole family is really active. We grew up watching our parents compete, and we became really competitive playing soccer growing up in California."

Unfortunately, being a Joyner also means added attention from her opponents. Joyner has been faced with double or triple teams on the soccer field almost every game this season.

"Teams we play often know that she is a key offensive player," said Springville coach Ryan Swanson. "She was our leading scorer as a sophomore last season, and she knows how to finish around the goal."

"Even so, we don't mind when Crosby gets double-teamed because it opens up opportunities for our other players."

Joyner agreed: "Teams are putting their most physical player on me. They are playing me a lot closer off the ball, and they grab me when I try to make a move. Nothing too bad.

"We have plenty of players that can score," she added. "The team works well together, so if they are guarding me really close we still have plenty of chances to score goals."

In a 1-0 upset loss to Provo recently, the aggressive Bulldog defense used physical play to push Joyner off the ball, rarely allowing the speedy forward to use what Swanson calls her "gazelle-like" stride and limiting her opportunities to score. While her teammates had shots on net, no one was able to put one past the goalkeeper.

Swanson insists that aggressive defenses will not always be successful against the Red Devils, however.

"Provo is the most physical team we play," says Swanson. "Even so, we had opportunities to score and we did not execute. Obviously, you don't like losses as a coach, but we took that as an opportunity to tell the girls not to take anything for granted and to stay focused."