As the second half slowly began to wind down, two players playfully stayed warm by exercising with a hula-hoop.
It was appropriate, because the Park City High School girls’ soccer team ran circles around its first-round opponent in the opening game of the 3A state playoffs Wednesday.
The Miners defeated visiting Richfield 14-0, matching their previous season-high in goals scored when they defeated Carbon 14-1 on Sept. 23.
Park City showcased its offensive fluidity early and often as freshman Jessica Dancy earned a first-half hat trick en route to a 9-0 lead at halftime.
“I was just happy,” head coach Chip Cook said. “I was really pleased with the way we played. Sometimes we have a tendency to let down, but the intensity stayed good. We played our style of game.”
The Miners had nine different goal scorers on the afternoon as Julia Kranstover, Rachael Patez and Sarah Hendrickson each tallied two. Bethany Kanten, Jessie Paskoski, Sarah McInerney, Sienna Palmacci and Sophie Frankenburg rounded out the goal scorers in the Miners’ runaway triumph.
The offensive onslaught was a testament to Park City’s depth and skill level as some players who have rarely seen quality time this season got in some game action and really excelled.
“We didn’t veer away from our style,” Cook said.
Cook mentioned that after her team took a commanding 9-0 lead, she called off the dogs, but her team still found ways to score impressive goals.
“They still managed to score within that parameter. That’s great,” she said.
While their first-round opponent wasn’t as tough a team as they had hoped to face, the Miners displayed pinpoint passing and took advantage of the Richfield offside trap that the Wildcats had planned on using coming in.
The speed of Dancy, Maggie Riegelsperger, Sami Myers and Laurel Kasel thwarted any chance the Wildcats had coming into the game,
Next up for the Miners is a quarterfinal matchup with Cedar City High School, which defeated Judge Memorial 2-1.
When that score was announced to fans and players after the game, there was a loud cheer as Park City saw one of its oldest rivals fall in the first round.
“Hopefully we can dial up the intensity for this next game,” Cook said. “I hope we can play a similar style and continue this going.”
The head coach said that her staff is not familiar with Cedar, which plays in the southern 3A region, but knows that any team that bested Judge in the first round will be a strong and worthy opponent.
“We can’t go out there being intimidated at all. We have a great team,” she said.
Cedar (6-6-3) pulled off one of the big upsets of opening day in 3A playoffs. The Lady Reds defeated a Judge team that went 10-0 in Region 11 play, and had a record of 13-4 on the year and the Miners will be wary to not be the next victim.
“We haven’t played our best soccer yet against a quality team,” Cook said.
Park City and Cedar will kick off at 1 p.m. today at the North 40 Field to see which team will punch its ticket to the semifinals at Rio Tinto Stadium next Friday.