Frosh leads West Jordan to victory

WEST JORDAN— It was evident during West Jordan's 3-2 win over Hunter Thursday afternoon that the Jaguars future is headed for some greener pastures.

"We lost four of our best players in the first week of the season," said coach Richard Hoonakker. "I play seven freshman out there. Our main skill position players are all in ninth grade. We were pretty much forced to play all of our young players and start building for next year."

After the way the team played, even building for the future could reap benefits this season. A player that could be both future and present is forward Kelsi Rivera. She is the team's leading scorer this year, and is one of the freshmen that start. With a lack of experience, it is no wonder that this game marked the best of her short career. She scored a hat trick to tally all of the Jaguars' goals.

"It felt wonderful to get my first hat trick," said Rivera. "I've never had one before, so it is kind of surprising."

Rivera scored in the 16th, 28th and 68th minutes. The first two goals were carbon copies of each other. Hunter tried an offside-trap, but Rivera began her run before the ball was kicked and found herself behind the defense going one-on-one with the keeper. Both goals came when she hit the ball to the lower right corner of the net and gave West Jordan the 2-0 halftime lead.

"She has a lot of weapons," Hoonakker said of his playmaker. "She can create on her own, or set someone up, and she knows when to shoot and when to take another touch."

The Jaguars kept Hunter from scoring for the first 64 minutes. The Wolverines were controlling the possession mainly due to the play of the central midfield of Karalee Baron and Tiffany Gonagware. But even with all the possession, Hunter was unable to get good looks at the goal.

Sweeper Liz Pearce —also a freshman—kept the back organized and cleared away dangerous balls. If the Hunter attack did manage a shot, goalkeeper Lauren Waite was up to the challenge.

"She is a freshman and captain of the team. All the girls look up to her as a leader even though she is young," said Hoonakker. "She really knows the game and is always positive. She really picks up the team."

Even though this was West Jordan's first win. Both Hoonakker and Rivera said there is still a positive attitude with the squad.

"I think we have a lot of fun together," said Rivera. "We all get along, and we have team dinners after almost every practice."