San Juan girls soccer tops Navajo Prep

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
Four games into the 2024 season the San Juan High School girls soccer team sports a 1-3 overall record. They’re 0-2 in the 2A South Region and their 4-0 win over Navajo Prep on August 30 was the first win for the program since October 5, 2021.
Now the Lady Broncos are gearing up for the meat of their season, where they’ll face ten region opponents over the course of the next four weeks. In addition, the team is heading to Farmington, NM this weekend to compete in the two-day Navajo Prep Tournament.
San Juan opened the season on August 27 with a tough 6-2 loss to rival Grand County in Blanding. Sophomore Brittany Jensen and junior Brinley Jones scored the goals for the Lady Broncos and sophomore goalkeeper Colee Crofts made ten saves.
Two days later San Juan welcomed Miyamura to town. The Lady Patriots, who hail from Gallup, NM, held the lead throughout in a 6-1 final. Jones scored her second goal of the year in the loss and Crofts again made ten saves.
The next day, on Friday, August 30, Brinley Jones netted a hattrick to lead the Lady Broncos to their first win in almost three years over the Navajo Prep Lady Eagles. Senior Macee Palmer added the other goal in the victory.
On Tuesday, September 3 San Juan visited Beaver for their second region tilt of the season. The Lady Beavers built a 2-0 lead in the first half, but the Lady Broncos rallied to make it close in the second.
Freshman Jaynie McNaughtan scored the first goal of her varsity career and Brinley Jones got another, but Beaver scored one more to hold San Juan off for a 3-2 final. Crofts made an amazing 22 saves in the game.
Through the first four games of the season Jones leads the team with six goals. McNaughtan, Macee Palmer, and Jensen have one goal apiece.
McNaughtan and Jensen have also both registered one assist each, and Crofts has made 42 saves for an average of 10.5 saves per game.
The team is heading to Farmington this Friday and Saturday, September 13 and 14 for the Navajo Prep Tournament. They’ll resume region play next Tuesday, September 17 in Gunnison.