The scoreboard might not show it, but Miners coach Tom Merchant is starting to see his team make improvements with every game. It just hasn’t turned into wins yet.
The Miners lost their third straight game to start the season in a 3-0 loss to Timpview on Thursday at the North 40 Fields and still haven’t found the back of the net in 2021.
“I like that we got everybody on the field, we had some opportunities, nothing tremendous, but I’m not displeased because I think we’re improving with every game,” Merchant said. “And really, that’s all we can hope for is to be better and better. To be miraculous all of a sudden is not sensible, but to keep getting better and keep getting better is really important.”
A relatively even first half turned into a 1-0 lead for Timpview about halfway through the period. Forward Sarah Oyler volleyed a cross toward the goal, and Miners goalkeeper Emerson Abraham made the save. However, the rebound popped right back Oyler, who smashed it into the open net.
The Miners looked like they were going to hold on for just a 1-0 deficit going into halftime before surrendering a late corner kick. The Thunderbirds turned it into a second goal to double their lead.
Timpview picked up in the second half where it left off with a quick goal coming out of the break to make it 3-0. While Park City’s defense stepped up to prevent more goal-scoring opportunities and improved greatly from its 7-0 loss to Fremont to start the year a week ago, the Miners struggled to create their own chances.
“I mean, we could hope for weak opponents, but we didn’t, we scheduled tough opponents on purpose to challenge ourselves,” Merchant said. “The more we can start making connections in our midfield, the more we can start getting some motion forward that’s going to be meaningful.”
Abraham made a few key saves in the second half to keep the game close, including one on a breakaway.
“She did well,” Merchant said. “My talk with her was about concentration — and she knows it and we’ve talked about it — it’s important that you’re in the moment all the time as a goalkeeper, and mentally that’s hard to do.”
Park City will be looking to right the ship when it hits the road to face archrival Wasatch on Saturday. The Wasps are also winless on the season and have been outscored 15-1 in their three games this season. The close proximity between the two schools means that there will be familiar faces on both sides of the field.
“A lot of these club players will play together at different things, so those kind of rivalries are fun,” Merchant said. “I think they’re going to be pretty good, but we’re getting better, so we’ll bring our bug swatters and we’re going to get them, we’ll see. Scoring a goal will help.”