Although considered a rival by the Miners lacrosse programs, Alta wasn’t much competition for the girls team Thursday afternoon as they cruised to a 23-4 victory on Dozier Field.
Nationally ranked Park City didn’t leave their opponents much room to breathe, opening up a 11-1 lead before they could blink. By the halftime mark, that lead had ballooned to an untenable 17-1 situation. The Miners tacked on six second-half goals for some good ‘ole icing on the cake.
It’s possible Park City sought to remind the rest of the 5A bracket that they’re not going anywhere after nearly a week long layoff. The Miners are the playoff’s top seed, and an overwhelming favorite to claim a third state title in the program’s short-lived history.
Junior Coco Crawford was one of many stars Thursday for Park City. While Crawford had a hat trick, the team had 13 additional goal scorers. Seven Miners assisted on goals, with Sophia Mondschein having an assists hat trick to go along with her two goals.
“It was a great team win,” said Park City head coach Mikki Clayton. “We’ve been working with the girls all week to really play as a team and selflessly.”
Clayton felt like the dominant win was emblematic of the work her team put in during the week of practices. The Miners have been incredibly balanced all year, with nine different players having scored double-digit points.
While Park City knows this team has special potential, they’re taking a day-by-day approach. Clayton and her staff have been telling the team that everyday they get to spend together in these playoffs is a blessing in itself.
“We are obviously looking forward to putting ourselves in a great position to be in the state championship game again,” Clayton added. “But, we want to make sure we’re focused on every single task at hand — and that we take all of our opponents very seriously.”
Clayton almost laughed saying her team is hitting their stride at the right time. The Miners lost one game this season, in March to out-of-state Foothill — they’re 17-1.
Park City’s next task is moving past eighth-seeded West Jordan Saturday afternoon, again on Dozier. The Miners took them down 16-3 April 30 on the road.
If Park City takes care of business Saturday, they’ll find themselves in Tuesday’s semifinals at Westminster University. A potential 2022, 2023 and 2024 state title game rematch with rival Olympus still hangs in the balance. The Miners would be all too happy to get their shot at some revenge, after falling in the 2024 game. The team has defeated the Titans twice with ease already this season.
“It is certainly shaping up that way,” Clayton said. “It’ll be interesting.”
To follow the rest of the 5A playoffs, see MaxPreps’ website.
