Despite back-to-back last-second losses, the players on the Park City High School girls’ lacrosse team are not hanging their heads. In fact, head coach Amy Hafets said the team has been injected with life after playing some of the state’s top teams to the very end.
After losing to Olympus 11-10 on the road last Thursday, the Miners opened their home schedule Tuesday at Dozier Field against Bingham, considered to be one of the better teams in Utah girls’ lacrosse.
Unfortunately for Park City, the game followed the script of the Olympus loss as Bingham had the last laugh, scoring the game-winning goal with less than a minute remaining to emerge victorious, 11-10.
“(The Miners) were fired up and excited and enthusiastic,” Hafets said. “One of the things we’ve been focusing on this year is pulling together and focusing on the team, on backing each other up on the ground and trying to maintain the intensity and staying hungry and wanting it.”
The young Miners’ squad jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first half. However, Bingham found a way back into the thick of things after being given a few free-position shots which are eight meters away from goal and awarded when a foul is committed by the defense and Bingham capitalized on each one.
Heading into halftime, the score was knotted up at 6-6.
In the second half, the two team traded goals. With 10 minutes remaining, Bingham snatched a two-goal lead. Hafets called a quick timeout.
“We had to refocus and we talked about specific strategy things,” she said. “At that point, we knew Bingham would try and stall and we made sure we had to force a turnover and work on high-pressure defense.”
The Miners responded, scoring two goals to equalize the score at 10-10.
After Bingham grabbed its last-minute lead, Park City had 30 seconds to make one last-ditch effort to tie the game but couldn’t find the back of the net.
The loss dropped Park City to 3-3. But as Hafets said, the team is two breaks away from being 5-1.
Park City’s head coach said a number of players have stepped up their game and are helping the Miners’ drive for a playoff spot. Defensively, Ellie Meyer and Hannah Hyatt, both freshmen, have been impressive through six regular-season games, along with Sierra Schlag, Hafets said.
“With our underclassmen, I have asked a lot of them and I have been impressed with how many of them are stepping up,” she said.
In the midfield, Maddie Haynes and Alex Miele have been strong for the Miners attacking and help-defending, while forward Sam Meyer, a senior team captain this year, and forward Katy Miele have spearheaded the Park City attack.
“After the game Tuesday, Bingham’s coach told me our girls outplayed them,” Hafets said. “I thought, going against a very strong opponent, they really played with a lot of confidence. And going forward, assuming we can get into playoffs, it gives me the confidence we can beat those kinds of teams.”