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SANDY — By most accounts, St. Joseph's boys soccer team had a successful season last year, scoring 112 goals that ranks fourth all-time in Utah High School Activities Association history.
But all the Jayhawks remembered from 2022 was the final game, when upstart Rowland Hall surged into the 2A state tournament and the ninth-seeded Winged Lions upset St. Joseph 2-0 in the championship match.
For Rowland Hall, it was the ultimate underdog story, a .500 team in the regular season that caught fire at the right time and beat St. Joseph in its third meeting.
For the Jayhawks, the 2023 season was about making it back to Rio Tinto Stadium — now America First Field — and getting the job done.
Daniel Fontes scored two goals, and Tomas Paraizo added another for St. Joseph en route to a 3-0 win over second-seeded Maeser Prep, clinching the Jayhawks' first UHSAA boys soccer state title in the 2A championship Friday afternoon on Real Salt Lake's home field.
"We knew the school didn't have a trophy from state soccer," said Fontes, whose team was the No. 1 seed in 2021, as well. "We always had this mentality to be the first. Of course, last year we hit the post; we almost got it.
"I like to say that you never lose, you always learn. But this year was different, and now it feels different than last year. It was just a relaxed team."
Jayhawks. Champs. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0LjbOKC8c3
— KSL.com Sports (@KSLcomSports) May 12, 2023
The Jayhawks (14-0) capped an undefeated season with the program's first title, and Fontes played as big of a role in it as anyone with a team-best 36 goals.
But St. Joseph was about more than one player, a collective of individuals building from the back en route to scoring 102 goals and allowing just two — the second being a state record — head coach Paulo Franco was quick to add, while giving his star striker deserved kudos.
"He's a superstar," Franco said of Fontes. "He's a guy that deserves everything coming in his career. But I can say that about my whole squad, all 23 players; they work together.
"Of course, it's a group of players that work together," the coach added. "It's the whole group."
With the win, the Jayhawks snapped a 16-game winning streak for Maeser Prep (16-2), handing the Lions their first loss since the season opener.
And the team in its home green-and-black stripes made it look easy at times, pressing the Lions' back line until Fontes scored his first with a laser into the left corner just 10 minutes into the match.
Paraizo doubled the advantage in the 21st minute, giving the Jayhawks a 2-0 advantage at halftime that never let up.
Fontes finished off the scoring just three minutes from time, taking advantage of a charging goalkeeper and skipping the final goal into an empty net as his teammates mobbed him on the grass.
"The opportunities always show up," Fontes said. "You've just got to know how to use them. As a team, we play hard in every single position: defenders, midfielders, strikers, everyone running for each other. That's what our team's made of."
From the heartache of last year's loss to the dominating, undefeated, program-defining state title, St. Joseph felt the full gamut in its record-setting run to the championship.
But they never forgot last season.
"It was two years of working hard," said Franco, who improved to 30-3 in three seasons with St. Joseph. "Last year, we took second place, but this year we did our best and we knew our roster. They did a fantastic job, and this is for them."
