As the Miners girls lacrosse team has done for much of this season, they rolled over regional foe Hillcrest 19-1 on senior night Wednesday at the fields at Quinn’s Junction.
Park City opened up a 14-0 first half lead, much to the pleasure of their packed home crowd. The Miners remained solid in the second half, with a running clock in effect due to the huge lead.
In fitting fashion, seniors Olivia Dalton and Coco Crawford led Park City with nine and seven points, respectively, in the win. Dalton had three goals and an assist and Crawford four goals and three assists.
The dominant first half allowed the Miners to showcase the future of their program, with a halftime game between youth girls teams taking center stage. As the girls ran up and down the field, the senior game announcers kept providing color commentary, and the Park City players and coaches cheered them on.
There was also a pizza truck parked fieldside, enveloping everyone in aromas of fresh-baked crust.
“Just means a lot to play well,” said first-year Miners Head Coach Adam Ghitelman. “I know all the girls were so excited to honor them (senior class) tonight; that’s what they did.”
Ghitelman said it was special to honor players current and future because his team sees themselves in those girls.
“These girls are going to be ripping it up out here for the varsity team before you know it,” Ghitelman said. “More than anything, I know these girls (his team) take a lot of pride in the community, and lacrosse culture here means a lot to them.”
Ghitelman said this year’s senior class, also including Shiva Minter, Annie Ellis, Renee Hebert, Grace Puleo, Jackie Kent and Lily Yatkeman, have made his life easy as a coach in year one.
“I don’t have to coach toughness, hard work and getting after it,” Ghitelman said. “They take care of that a lot on their own, and that’s been really special. When you have a player-led group, it’s, as a coach, kind of the dream.”
Park City is gunning for back-to-back state titles this month. Ghitelman said the team will take the next week to improve in practice, as they’ve been doing all season.
“We are as good as anyone,” Ghitelman said. “So, it’s been how do we find the best version ourselves on May 21 (state championship game day), and I think we’re still seeking that.”
Minter said, “I’ve always felt super excited to play with Park City lacrosse. I feel like we’re the most disciplined program in the state, and it’s such a blessing to play against such determined girls in practice.”
Minter has been out for much of this season with a torn ACL. She believes winning what would be a third state title for the senior class would be the icing on the cake of their high school careers. The Miners also won the 2023 title.
“It would be the perfect ending,” Minter said. “We’ve been to the state championship all four years of my high school career. … With a new coach, we’ve really worked hard, and I feel like all our wins have shown that.”