The move to Region 4 of Class 5A was kind to the West Jordan girls soccer team. 

The Jaguars might have not won a region title, and they suffered a loss in the first round of the 5A state tournament. Still, with seven victories on the year, the team enjoyed its most wins since 2020. 

West Jordan was 7-10 this season, the same record it had in 2020. The Jaguars were 6-4 in league play, good enough for second place. But what was perhaps most significant was the difference between this year’s win-loss record and that of the previous two seasons. Last year, the Jaguars were 2-14, while they went 1-15 in 2021. In both seasons, they weren’t able to pick up a single region victory. 

This season, West Jordan earned its first league win by game two with a 4-0 shutout of Cyprus on Aug. 24. West Jordan then beat Granger 3-2 on Aug. 29, which preceded two consecutive losses. However, wins over Hunter (2-1 on Sept. 12) and Cyprus (3-0 on Sept. 14) followed, giving the team four wins in a six-game stretch. The Jaguars won their final two games of the regular season, a 1-0 victory over Taylorsville on Sept. 25 and a big 1-0 shutout of Kearns on Sept. 27. The regular season finale was a huge accomplishment for the Jaguars, as the win gave Kearns its only region loss of the year. 

The state tournament game was a rough one for West Jordan. 

Playing on the road in the first round at Alta, the Jaguars lost to Alta 6-0. It was close at halftime—2-0—but the Hawks turned the game into a rout with four goals in the second half. Still, the season overall was a positive one for a West Jordan team that has had some struggles over the years. 

Five different players registered goals for the Jaguars this season. Far away, the leading scorer was senior Lexi Nelson, who had 14 goals to go along with three assists. Fellow senior Clara Pauni had three goals, while senior Taylor Smith scored twice. Sophomore Tatiana Cortes got a goal at Copper Hills on Aug. 11. Senior Malory Skelton had a goal in the win over Kearns and added an assist at home against Cyprus on Aug. 23 and another at Granger on Sept. 19. Reagan Day and Aspen Olson had an assist each. West Jordan had four shutouts this season.  λ