EVANSTON — The Evanston Lady Red Devil soccer team was very familiar with their opening round opponent in the 4A West Regional Tournament staged in Green River on May 10, having faced the Lady Broncs of Jackson in Evanston a scant six days earlier in Evanston.

Of course, Jackson was equally familiar with Evanston. The 4-1 Lady Broncs’ victory vaulted Jackson into the state tournament while ending Evanston’s hopes of further postseason play. 

Last season marked the first time in the program’s 17-year history that Evanston advanced to the state tournament, but it wasn’t to be in their 18th season, as they faced a Jackson team on the rise. The Lady Broncs finished the conference season in fifth place, yet after dispatching Evanston, they knocked off second-seeded Kelly Walsh, and were narrowly defeated in the title match, 1-0, by Rock Springs.

Coach Chuck Grenfell is no stranger to soccer sidelines in Evanston, but this was his first season at the helm of Lady Red Devil soccer. Grenfell simultaneously described this particular inaugural run as one of the most enjoyable and one of the most challenging “in many, many seasons.”

The enjoyable factor was attributed to the composition of his team — the athletes and their attitude and determination. Injuries defined the challenging aspect, for the most part.

Jackson led 4-0 at halftime, but Evanston had their chances to score in the second half, according to their coach. Grenfell alluded to the outcome of the regional tournament pairing with Jackson as a microcosm of the Lady Red Devil season.

“We could not get that final touch to get it into the net against Jackson,” the coach said. “That seemed to be the difference most all season. We could just not find the final touch.”

For Bronwyn Payne, Anahi Escalante, Brenda Casas, Guadalupe Ayon, Falynn Mackey and Micah Harvey, the six who have donned the blue and scarlet for the final time, their coach expressed his admiration and gratitude.

“Our seniors inspired our team,” Grenfell said. “Senior leadership [has] set forth as a standard that ‘this is the drummer we’re going to march to’ and we’re going to continue that effort.”

The coach also lavished praise on his team as a whole.

“I’m extremely proud. The girls were fantastic,” Grenfell said.

“They bought into what was expected, to work hard every day in practice and fight to the last second in every game.”

Grenfell is optimistic that his returning athletes will practice skills and “get a lot of touches” of the ball in the offseason. He is also hopeful for the prospects that participation in upcoming camps this summer may bring. More details on those camps will be highlighted in a future issue of the Herald.

The end of season awards dinner is slated for May 24 at Horizon High School and will be followed by the Red Devil boys’ soccer dessert social.