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Miners girls’ soccer rebounds against Logan

Jessie Dancy launches a shot at the Logan goal during a 2-1 win on Thursday. Christopher Reeves/The Park Record
(Photo by: Christopher Reeves/The Park Record)

The Park City High School girls’ soccer team has been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks.

In a 3-1 loss to 5A Northridge on Thursday, Aug. 22, senior captains Jessie Dancy and Maggie Reigelsperger didn’t play and Taylor Hodgson, the third senior captain, suffered an injury. Senior Kenzie Bothner also missed time with a hip injury.

But on Thursday, Aug. 29, against Logan at the North 40 fields, Dancy and Reigelsperger were back in action and led the Miners to a 2-1 victory.

Dancy set up the first goal, driving around her defender and putting a shot on goal. The Logan goalkeeper blocked Dancy’s shot, but the rebound landed at the feet of Laura Lyons, who knocked the ball into the net for the goal.

"It was really good that Laura was in that area," Dancy said. "Sometimes when I come around the corner it’s hard to take a shot, so it was nice to have other players in the box to finish the play."

In the second half, Dancy once again got by her defender, sprinting into open space and beating the keeper for a goal to put the Miners up 2-0.

Dancy said she’s feeling much better than she was last week, but her calf still isn’t fully healed.

"It was feeling good today," she said. "It’s a little bit tight but it didn’t hurt. I’m psyched to be back."

She said it was good to see her teammates bouncing back after a tough loss last week.

"We had a team talk to kind of figure things out (after the Northridge game)," she said. "This is the time of year where we can either keep building and go uphill or we can just stay mediocre and keep alternating wins and losses."

With the offensive effort against 4A Logan, Dancy is confident the team is heading in the right direction. She said she was happy with the way she and her teammates were playing on Thursday.

"It got a little hectic towards the end, but at least we dug it out and won," she said.

Park City coach Chip Cook said getting healthy is the most important thing now.

"We’re a little bit dinged up right now," she said. "We’re missing a little bit of our leadership in the middle of the field and we lacked some organization at times. But we’re just trying to take care of our players now during the non-region games when it doesn’t count. If we even suspect that there might be the chance that an injury is going to linger, we just sit them out."

The Miners play Mountain Crest at home on Thursday in the last game before region play starts. Cook said she hopes the Miners can improve in a couple more areas before taking on Juan Diego on Sept. 12.

"We need to work on our communication," she said. "There was a little bit of a disconnect and a lack of communication on the field today."

She added that the lack of communication forced goalkeeper Marina Mayo to work harder than normal, but she was proud of the way the sophomore responded.

"She made an incredible save on what would have been the tying goal," Cook said. "She came out in a one-on-one situation and disrupted the play, which is exactly what we ask her to do. She did a good job."

And, Cook said, the experience gained by some of the younger players who are filling in due to injuries will only help the team down the road.

"People are being forced to step up into positions they’re not normally accustomed to, but that’s a good thing for our team," she said. "And it’s the time of year when we have the luxury to experiment."

Park City improved to 3-2-1 on the season with the win. The Miners’ game against Mountain Crest kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on the North 40 fields on Thursday afternoon.


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