The Miners boys lacrosse team takes on a challenging schedule each season. This means facing off against Utah’s best teams, even if they are bigger schools and sometimes the nation’s best.
Following an unsuccessful two-game annual road trip to Colorado to face two of the best teams in the country, Park City was looking to regain some of its confidence against Rancho Santa Margarita, California’s Santa Margarita. The Miners welcomed who are now the 39th-ranked team in the nation, according to MaxPreps, to Westminster University’s Dumke Field on Friday.
After falling into a 2-0 hole heading into the second quarter Friday, Park City found their groove. They trailed at halftime 4-2, outsourcing their opponents 7-4 in the second half for the one-goal win. Star junior Henry Alnwick led the Miners in the win with five points on three goals and two assists.
The win Friday marked the fifth straight for Park City, who entered their spring break this week at 9-2 overall and 2-0 in region play. The Miners two losses on the Colorado trip came to Cherry Creek of Greenwood Village, ranked 30th in the country, and Valor Christian of Highlands Ranch, ranked 14th. The team will close their regular season facing a brutal schedule featuring games against 6A foe Farmington, perennial 5A title contender Olympus and defending 6A state champion Corner Canyon.
The 5A playoffs begin May 12. Park City is chasing their first state title since the 2023 season.
“They were definitely a powerful team,” Miners Head Coach Michael Persky said about Santa Margarita. “I would say that we took the lessons learned in Colorado from being convincingly thrashed and we upped our game and played a much better game against Santa Margarita, and as a result we were able to come away with a pretty hard-fought victory against a really good team.”
Persky said his team goes into the Colorado trip every season knowing it’s going to be incredibly tough sledding.
The head ball coach tabbed Alnwick and seniors Tommy Fannon and Max Gordon as players who have excelled win or loss. Fannon had four points on three goals and an assist against Santa Margarita.
“Henry has been having a great season,” Persky said. “Unfortunately, we lost him for four weeks now; he got hurt on pretty much one of the last plays of the game. … So, that victory came with a bit of a cost. Tommy Fannon stepped up his game and played really well, and the defense just continues to be outstanding, really outstanding.”
Persky feels like his team is continuing to improve at the right time of the season. He’d like to see them continue this momentum after spring break against some of Utah’s best teams.
“We feel like we’ve got a little bit more to go,” Persky said. “It’ll be interesting to see how, if we can, continue to learn, grow and get better.”
Park City will be primarily focusing on their offense and converting scoring chances down the stretch of the regular season. In addition to the Farmington, Olympus and Corner Canyon games, the Miners will face off against region foes West Jordan and Judge Memorial Catholic and Green Canyon. The West Jordan game is the team’s next one, taking place next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on the road.
“We were able to get nine in against Santa Margarita, which was good,” Persky said. “We need to continue to put the ball in the net. … Our defense needs to continue to stay disciplined; when they’re disciplined, they’re just unbelievable.”
Persky mentioned seniors Tommy Davis and Benjamin Gibbs and sophomore Reid McCurdy as defensive anchors.
“They’re working hard,” Persky said about his team. “Every day is just another opportunity to step forward and get better. … Every win is nice, but no one is more important than the other until that last game.”