Strong start: Timpview girls soccer off to a promising start this season

By Brandon Gurney - | Aug 13, 2025

: Timpview Coach James Pena addresses his team

: Provo’s Ember Yenchik

: Timpview’s Kylie Pestana

: Timpview goalkeeper Amaya Tolman

: Timpview midfielder Leah Atuaia

: Provo’s Emma Martin

: Provo Coach Daniel Cardenas during a timeout

: Timpview’s Leah Atuaia

: Timpview’s Sandra Sagers throws the ball in

: Provo’s Emma Martin controls the ball

Brandon Gurney, Daily Herald

Timpview Coach James Pena addresses his team

With his first year in the rearview mirror, Timpview girls soccer Coach James Pena is looking toward improved results as he begins his second season leading the program.

And his girls are responding well.

On Tuesday, the Thunderbirds thumped rival Provo 2-0, scoring a goal late in the first half to provide a necessary boost, and then late in the second half to effectively ice the cake.

“We have a lot of girls returning who love to come to work and love to support one another, and that’s what we saw out there tonight,” Pena said. “Hopefully we can keep it going, but I really like the overall work and attitude of my team this year. There was a lot of growth out there tonight and a lot of passion.”

Leading off the scoring for Timpview in the first half was Kamea’aloha Clark, placing a well-executed shot just beneath the crossbar in the game’s 36th minute, giving her team a necessary boost going into the half.

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

Provo's Ember Yenchik

“It changed the momentum for us,” Pena said. “We knew coming into the game that we were going to have different ideas and go against a great opponent that has a great coach and a great staff. So we came out, adjusted well to what we were up against in the first half, and then sort of took control a bit more in the second.”

Indeed the first half saw a consistent back-and-forth between the two schools with Provo actually out-shooting the Thunderbirds 5-3 before Clark’s goal.

As Pena mentioned, the second half saw his team more proactive on the offensive end, aided by a stellar defensive effort led by senior fullback Kylie Pestrana and goalkeeper Amaya Tolman, among others.

Topping off the scoring for Timpview was Ava Badger, who was the beneficiary of a well-placed cross from Sandra Sagers to all but put the game on ice with just over four minutes remaining.

“It’s icing on the cake because Ava has been working very, very hard. She’s one of the junior and seniors on our team that’s really taking the leadership role well and helping us improve,” Pena said. “We have other great leaders like Sandra Sagers, Kylie Pestrana, Leah Atuaia and Ellie Robertson, and a few others who have shown a lot of growth and passion so far this year to set the example for the rest of our team.”

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

Timpview's Kylie Pestana

As always, success during the season is planted during the offseason, and Pena worked well in harvesting better team unity than perhaps his team showed last season.

“There’s been a lot better team-building this year,” Pena said. “We’ve changed some things and hopefully we can keep changing and improving until the end of the year. Tonight was a great win, but we have another game against Alta here soon and a lot of games and chances to improve ahead of us. But I liked what I saw out there tonight.”

With the win Timpview improves to 2-1 on the season and as Pena mentioned, next up for the Thunderbirds is a game against Alta on Thursday.