By Joe Murray, Head Coach

The boys soccer team returned to the practice field at the end of February, fully motivated to repeat the feats of the previous season where the Rowland Hall team won the 2A State Championship. While we were ultimately thwarted at the quarterfinal stage, the team can be proud of the season, finishing with a better overall record (11-4) than in the two previous seasons despite having to fill the gap left by five departing seniors from the state championship starting lineup.

Regular Season

The greatest challenge posed by the regular season turned out to be the weather. Several practices were either canceled or moved indoors. Two games had to be rescheduled, and one other game was canceled. Nonetheless, the team played 13 of the 14 games originally scheduled, finishing with a 10-3 record, enough to earn second place in Region 17 play.

The team commenced the season with a tough non-region schedule, playing the top two teams from the Central Region and perennial local 3A rivals Judge Memorial and South Summit (3A). Rowland Hall was 1-0 victors against Maeser Prep, the #1 2A team in the Central Region and ultimately the state championship runner-up. American Heritage, the number-two 2A team in the Central Region, was also beaten 2-1 after a tough game in American Fork. The only defeat was to Judge Memorial, by a score of 4-3 in overtime, on a windy day at Steiner Field. South Summit was easily beat 7-1 at Rowland Hall. There was one additional non-region game in the middle of the North Region schedule, a loss to Layton Christian Academy, the team that finished the regular season as the 4A number-one seed and became the 2022 3A State Champions.

The North Region schedule included six games against our usual opponents: Waterford, St. Joe, APA Draper, APA West Valley, Utah Military Academy Hill Field, and Wendover. Two additional games were added: a second game against Waterford and a second game against APA West Valley. The team finished this stretch of games with a 7-1 record, the sole loss being to St. Joe in the region championship–deciding game by a score of 1-0. St. Joe ultimately finished the season as state champions, and the Rowland Hall players gave a good account of themselves in a close game at Steiner Field. The seven victories were by a margin of at least three goals.

The junior varsity (JV) team also gained some valuable experience in the regular season, finishing with a 3-5-1 record. Noah Bikhazi finished as leading scorer with six goals, followed by Owen Taylor and Ivan Wang, with three goals each. The team, led by Captain Angus Hickman, was competitive in all the games.

Playoffs

Our final regular season record of 10-3 resulted in Rowland Hall earning the fourth seed in the State 2A bracket, guaranteeing home field advantage in the first two rounds. In the round of 16, we played Merit Preparatory Academy, the #13 seed, winning easily by a final score of 5-0. Our season ended at the quarterfinal stage. American Heritage, whom we had beaten earlier in the season, was our opponent. Despite taking an early 1-0 lead from the penalty spot (Mikko Anderson was the scorer), American Heritage rallied for an equalizer and then scored the winner less than five minutes from the final whistle. It was harsh on the Winged Lions, who had more of the play and created more and better scoring chances in the game. Unfortunately, sport can be cruel, and this was one of those occasions.

Awards and Season Summary

• Most Valuable Player: Charlie Frech was honored as this season’s MVP. Having Charlie fit and available for an entire season was a major bonus. His absence was sorely felt during a losing streak last season. Charlie has been the team’s creative spark for four years, and his final season proved to be his best, with a team-leading 18 goals in addition to nine assists.
• Coaches’ Award: Last year’s co-MVPs, Anthony Sanchez and Jack Vitek, were selected for this award. Both players were elected co-captains by their teammates and were outstanding leaders throughout the season. However, this award also acknowledges their contribution throughout their Rowland Hall careers, Jack as a four-year starter and Anthony as a three-year starter. Anthony was also a co-captain in his junior year.
• Most Improved Player: Mikko Anderson was the very obvious choice for this award for stepping up from a role where he mainly contributed off the bench to a role where he was a first-choice starter on the wing for the entire season. He was one of the team’s leading goal providers, contributing nine assists in addition to seven goals.
• All-Region: Having finished second in the 2A North Region, Rowland Hall earned four places on the All-Region Team. Owing to their outstanding performances throughout the season, Charlie Frech, Jack Vitek, Anthony Sanchez, and Kelton Ferriter were selected. Charlie, Anthony, and Jack have already been recognized above. Kelton continued to excel in a central midfield role, providing a strong defensive shield while also contributing nine goals and five assists.
• Academic All-State/Academic All-Region: Seniors Jack Vitek, Charlie Frech, and Joe Fenton all earned Academic All-Region and Academic All-State honors, the most players to do so in my time as head coach. Congratulations to all three players on excellence in the classroom as well as on the field.

The team was fortunate to have five outstanding seniors leading the team, three of them as co-captains: Charlie Frech, Anthony Sanchez, and Jack Vitek. Joe Fenton has played four years on the soccer team and was the starting goalkeeper for three of those four seasons. Joe has been a great shot-stopper and has also demonstrated incredible bravery between the sticks, putting himself in harm’s way on many occasions. Ian Hanrahan joined the team for the first time his senior year and made an immediate impact. He earned a starting spot as an outside back, having not played any competitive soccer for a few years. Ian showed great enthusiasm and determination and was a great addition to the team.

The junior class has been a major contributor to the team’s success since their freshman year. As mentioned above, Kelton Ferriter was selected for the All-Region team for the second year in a row. River Whitten was the team’s second-leading scorer, with 14 goals; River’s overall play continues to improve, and he plays a key role in bringing others into the game. Brandt Barker had another strong season, graduating from an outside back position to part of the central defensive wall alongside Jack Vitek. Mikko Anderson’s important role was noted above, as he deservedly won the Most Improved Player award. Zac Bahna was “Mr. Versatility,” starting all games and playing in multiple positions including outside back, wing back, winger, and central midfielder. Brock Paradise was the starting goalkeeper for the junior varsity (JV) team, but filled in successfully for Joe Fenton on three occasions at varsity level. Nate Kanter played in more varsity games than in previous seasons, demonstrating his versatility by playing in multiple positions. Similarly, Kai Thielking continued to improve and played more at varsity level than in his first two seasons. Gabe Andrus has also been with the team for all three years and continues to surprise with his repertoire of dribbling skills.

Sophomores Owen Taylor and Angus Hickman made significant contributions at varsity level, playing some minutes in all varsity games, and both players also started in some of those games. Owen scored several goals and provided several assists at varsity level. Owen and Angus also played in all JV games, where Angus continued to show his leadership qualities as JV captain. Noah Bikhazi was another sophomore to play significant minutes at both the varsity and JV levels, scoring several goals. Ivan Wang continued to be one of the leading scorers at JV level. Newcomer William Berry played in all JV games and demonstrated that he has pace to burn, and we look forward to William being available to play at varsity level next year.

The team welcomed four freshmen to the roster. While most of the freshmen played more at JV level, Noa Fukushima stood out and played some minutes in all varsity games. Noa has mostly played as a defender prior to this year, but he showed his versatility and willingness to learn in his new role as a winger. Sawyer Orgain and Asher Orenstein played well at JV level, and one of the season’s highlights was the varsity game against Utah Military Academy where both players scored. Ocky Moyle unfortunately missed the first half of the season due to injury, but we were happy to have him back for the last two JV games.

Many thanks to Director of Athletics Kendra Tomsic, Assistant Director of Athletics Zack Alvidrez, and Athletic Trainer Rachel Gasser for all their support throughout the season. Thanks also to Assistant Coach Jack Schill for his contributions, from coaching and managing the JV team to his tactical insights for the varsity team. Thank you to all the parents for their support throughout the year. We have had great support at games from parents and students alike, and that was very much appreciated by the players and coaches. Finally, I would like to thank the players for all their efforts throughout the season: despite not achieving the goal of repeating a state championship success, the team can be very proud of its achievements and performances—I know I am.

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Athletics