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Maeser players are overcome by emotion as they sit next to the runner-up trophy after the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser junior Aidan Simmons skies for a header during the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser players cheer as senior Isaac Johnson holds up the runner-up trophy after the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser senior Tristan Brockbank (7) tries to get to a corner kick during the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser sophomore Jack Stevenson kicks the ball away from a defender during the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser players cheer as junior Aidan Simmons holds up the runner-up trophy after the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser sophomore Jack Stevenson takes a corner kick during the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser senior Tristan Brockbank (7) has his shot blocked during the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser fans cheers as players carry over the runner-up trophy after the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser junior Ethan Valentine (1) races to the ball during the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser junior Landon Call (17) and senior Tristan Brockbank comfort each other after the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser players prepare to take the field before the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser fans cheer on their team during the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Maeser senior Isaac Johnson clears the ball away from the goal during the 2A state boys soccer championship game against St. Joseph at America First Field in Sandy on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

At the beginning of the 2023 Maeser boys soccer season, head coach Dustin Simmons had a message for his varsity squad.

“I said, ‘OK, I’m going to say this one time, because it’s outside of our control and so we’re not going to set it as a goal,” Simmons said. “Then I said, ‘I think we’re good enough to go all the way.’ And we never talked about it again.”

He said he will never forget how after Wednesday’s 2A semifinal win over Waterford, he got to see those same athlete realize that they had achieved that goal and reached the state championship for the first time in school history.

“There were more tears on Wednesday then there were today (after losing to St. Joseph in the 2A title game),” Simmons said. “There were more tears because the boys realized that they had done something that we had mentioned one time. We thought we could and we did.”

Of course the Lions would’ve loved to have capped their impressive season by winning the championship in Friday’s finals at America First Field in Sandy, but even losing to the Jayhawks, 3-0, didn’t diminish how proud Simmons was of what his team did this year.

“This was a historic team,” Simmons said. “We went 16-2 and that is not bad at all. We have 14 juniors on our varsity team and I know they’re going to be hungry in the offseason. They will put in the work to see if we can get back next year, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt right now, doesn’t sting right now. But we’ll be alright.”

Maeser, the No. 2-seed, had steamrolled through their first three state tournament matches, defeating No. 15-seed Draper APA, No. 7-seed American Prep WV and No. 11-seed Waterford by a combined score of 19-3.

But while they knew top-seeded, undefeated St. Joseph would play at another level, it’s another to actually face a team like the Jayhawks on the field.

“We knew we were going to have to play probably our best game and we were off just a little bit,” Simmons said. “St. Joseph is really good, really good on the ball, at one-on-one. Their defenders are the reason why they’ve only given up like two goals this season. Their defenders are good. They go in hard. We were a little disconnected between our midfield and our top line, but they worked hard and I’m proud of them.”

It took some time for the Lions to get accustomed to the speed and skill of St. Joseph, which the Jayhawks took advantage of.

The favorites got all the scoring opportunities in the first half and put the ball in the net twice, getting a great shot from the top of the box in the 10th minute from sophomore Daniel Fontes and then in the 21st minute a nice pass from senior Carlos Garcia to junior Tomas Paraiso to double the lead.

Even though they were down, Maeser started settling down and getting more dangerous, particularly in the second half.

“In the beginning, it took us some time,” Simmons said. “Once they figured out we just needed to make some adjustments, then they fought. That’s all you can ask. Historically that energy is the kind of stuff that our program is built on, so I’m proud that they finished that way.”

The Lions weren’t ever able to get the ball in the net, however, and St. Joseph tacked on a late insurance goal to get the final tally.

No matter what was happening on the field, Maeser had tremendous support from its sizable cheering section as the school community came out in force to support the athletes.

“We’re a small school,” Simmons said. “We’ve got 640 kids. Most of the boys on this team have been in our school since seventh grade. It’s a big family and we had a lot of support from tremendous parents. One of the reasons we have so much support because the boys are just good kids and it’s easy to root for good kids. That makes a huge difference.”

The Lions have a strong core of underclassmen but Simmons said the seniors — guys like forward Tristan Brockbank, defender Isaac Johnson, keeper Grant Tingey — will leave a void as they move on.

“Everyone is replaceable and we will replace them, but it will be hard,” Simmons said. “Culturally, it’s a big thing for us because those guys have played for us at the varsity level for a long time. They have a lot of institutional knowledge. We’ll miss them but they’ve done a good job of passing the baton.”

He said the biggest thing he will take from 2023 is the evolving legacy of Maeser boys soccer.

“I had dinner with yesterday with two former players,” Simmons said. “When they played, we were just getting trashed every game. One of our boys, his Eagle project was to install the sod on our soccer field.

“To think about how far we’ve come in the 13 years that we’ve had a program, to start there and to end on this beautiful place at America First Field, it’s just fantastic. These boys know that they’ve inherited something bigger than themselves, and it’s their responsibility to pass it on to the next group of players.”

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