Miners boys varsity soccer eliminated in round 2 of the State Championships Playoffs

Three Miners co-captains (front to back wearing white), Nicolas Janssen, Quinn Kelly walking behind number 8, and Colton Sheffield, with their heads up looking forward to the start of the game. Photo: Jennifer Janssen.

OREM, Utah — The Park City High School Miners varsity boys soccer team was eliminated in round two of the Utah High School State Championships Tournament on Tuesday in Orem by the Golden Tigers with a score of 4 – 2.

As the Utah High School Activities Association announced its expectations of fair play from all athletes, Miners forward Nicolas Janssen, exemplified that good sportsmanship by initiating a handshake with his opponent’s counterpart seconds before the game started. 

His good karma paid off no less than five minutes after, with him scoring, making it 1-0 Park City on a free kick play.

One minute later, before his mom, Hailey, seen below applauding in the foreground of this video even had time to reset to photograph the moment, junior Quinn Kelly kicked the soccer ball in to make it 2 – 0, Miners.

Shortly thereafter, Miner senior Max Schneider endured a lower leg injury, not what his soccer coaches, nor Park City tennis coaches needed as he’s a top-ranked tennis star when not on the pitch. He was ok though later as the match went on.

With Park City up by two at halftime, there was palpable optimism as the Miners really wanted to better their previous season when they were eliminated in the second round by Vernal. 

A small group of last year’s graduates showed up to root on their friends. They now attend the U of U and BYU so they had a bit of a shorter drive than when they lived in Park City. 

A Yellow Card was issued to one of the players after-which with 23 mins left in the second half, senior Golden Tiger Cody Anderson scored their first point of the day on a corner kick bringing the score to 2 – 1, Miners up.

Below, Orem earned their second goal then with 13 minutes left on the clock by their senior Max Liechty, now it’s a tie ballgame at 2-2. It was a penalty shot as the prior play had a handball inside the Miner’s penalty area.

With six minutes remaining, freshman keeper for the Miners, Logan Cadman jumped as high as he could to stop an incoming ball but it squeaked by his outstretched fingertips as Anderson scored his second of the match, third overall for the Golden Tigers.

The scoreboard showed three minutes to play in this elimination playoff game when Anderson got his hat-trick off a corner kick play making it a 4 – 2 score, Orem.

Park City was trying and trying to make their move with a strong kick which only hit the opponent’s goal post and ricocheting outward, not inward, the dreaded loud ping sound was audible.

“Well, all three of my goals came off of headers so my head’s a little sore, but it was a good game,” Anderson told TownLift. “Park City came out hard but we played our game and brought it back again.” He said he has no definitive plans post high school to attend college but thinks he might try to be a soccer walk-on at UVU.

Anthony Dicicco, Miners head coach, said he was proud of the players and when asked about his hard-working coaches told TownLift, “We’re grateful for the commitment and the investment from this coaching staff. They understand what we’re trying to do. Sure, we would have loved to have won today, and we’d love to have more games to play going forward, there’s no team that wouldn’t, but what the coaching staff has bought into is that it’s bigger than that. They consistently strive to bring out the best in each of these talented players and always allow them to shine.” 

Coach Dicicco also said, “Thank you to the parents and supporters of the varsity soccer Miners for an overall fun season.”