YOUR AD HERE »

PCHS soccer squad wins region title

After defeating Stansbury 2-1 in double overtime at home on Sept. 17, the Park City High School girls’ soccer team knew it was in for a tough game on Tuesday afternoon at Stansbury.

With the Region 10 title on the line, the Miners came through when it mattered most, scoring a goal midway through the first half and holding on to earn a 1-0 victory and clinch the region championship.

Park City Assistant Coach Patty McAllister said there were some tense moments for the Miners after they took a 1-0 lead, but the defense played well to preserve the shutout.

"It was a little stressful when they started to put some pressure on us [late in the first half]," she said. "We committed some unnecessary fouls that put us in dangerous situations. In the second half, we were a little more composed and ready to attack them again."

McAllister said the Miners’ lone goal came after some chaos around the Stansbury net.

"We got a free kick on the right corner of the box," she said. "We had Bailey Hodgson step up and take it. Jess [DiCaprio] was with her, too, and she ran over the ball and Bailey curled it in to the back post. No one touched it and it ended up going into the goal. Evie [Edwards] looked like she got a foot on it, but she was just there to get the defenders out of the way."

The Miners’ travel plans were disrupted on Tuesday due to bus-driver availability. The team had to head down to Stansbury an hour earlier than scheduled.

"The girls handled it really well," McAllister said. "They always like a lot of downtime before the games, so I think it helped us more than hurt us. We got there and just hung out at the field. Some of them got to finish up some homework they were stressing about. Then, about an hour before the game, we were able to fully focus and not worry about any factors with traffic or anything like that.

"Maybe, in the future, we’ll use that strategy again," she added. "But not on a school day, of course."

By clinching the Region 10 No. 1 seed, the Miners now have the chance to play two playoff games at home. After losing 2-1 at home to Cedar in the first round of the playoffs last year, McAllister said the Miners are determined to protect their home field this year.

"It’s really important for them, especially the seniors," she said. "They are really looking forward to playing at home this year, especially after what happened last year. There would be no better feeling for them than ending on the right foot with two games at home."

Park City completed Region 10 play on Thursday afternoon with an 8-0 win over Grantsville. Julia Morelli scored three goals, Lindsay Gordon added two and Zoe Heiden, Sophie Robinson and Erin McNeely each had one.

Park City (9-6-1 overall) finished the Region 10 season with a perfect 8-0 record. The Miners will host the Region 11 No. 4 seed in a game at the North 40 fields on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 14.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Park City and Summit County make the Park Record's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.