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Rivalry renewed at Wasatch

Tyler Cobb/The Park Record
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The Park City High School boys’ soccer team was fighting for its life in the second half of Friday afternoon’s heated rivalry game against the Wasatch Wasps at Wasatch High School.

Holding a 1-0 lead courtesy of a Will MacFarlane goal, the Miners battled shifting weather conditions and a potent Wasatch offense that was bent on evening the score.

Eight minutes into the second half, the Wasps did just that, beating the Park City defense and rocketing the ball past goalkeeper Casey Sederman.

But with a chance to earn some points on the road in a big game against the 7-0-0 Wasps, the Miners didn’t give up. Though the snowy, windy conditions made ball control difficult, the Miners managed to keep the Wasps from scoring for the remainder of the half.

"We matched their energy and matched everything they brought to the field," Park City coach Jesse Blais said.

In a first overtime period, Wasatch scored a goal off a corner kick, appearing the end the game. But as the Wasps ran to their bench in celebration, the referee was furiously waving his arms, trying to indicate the goal had been disallowed due to a handball.

When play resumed after the chaos, the chippy play returned as well. The referee didn’t stop play after a Park City player was injured, causing Park City defender Sully Tesch to commit a foul to stop play and allow his teammate time to get off the field.

When the Wasatch player took offense to Tesch’s foul, both he and Tesch were shown red cards and ejected from the game.

Still tied at one, the teams entered a second 10-minute sudden-death overtime period.

With only seconds remaining, Wasatch broke through the Park City defense and put the ball in the back of the net to give the Wasps a 2-1 victory, starting another victory celebration. This one wouldn’t be called back.

"This is a tough one," Blais said. "There’s not a lot to tell (the Miners players) except for the fact that we’re at their place; the calls tend to go their way. Extra time gets added on when they have momentum; that’s just the way it is. They just need to keep their heads up and when it’s at our house, we need to use our advantage."

Park City (3-2-1 overall, 2-1 in Region 10) will be back in action this afternoon at Union. The Miners will be without junior Garrett Magie, who was injured early in the second half on Friday. He suffered a broken leg that required surgery on Friday night. He is expected to take about a year to get back to full speed.

Blais said the loss of Magie is a big blow to the Miners, and the team will need to adjust in a hurry to get back on track.

"We just have to regroup next week and figure out a new game plan we’re going to have to create without Garrett now," he said.

The Miners will host Wasatch on Friday, April 19, in a rematch of Friday’s action. Though the 2-1 loss certainly added fuel to the fire, Blais said the Miners are always looking forward to a chance to play their rivals.

"It’s been circled (on the schedule) since last season," he said.


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