3A soccer playoffs: Fast-starting Miners eliminate Desert Hills

The last couple of playoff games, Desert Hills has had some difficulty starting games, but the slow starts didn’t hurt them. Friday evening’s slow start in the state semifinals was devastating.

Park City scored two goals in the game’s first 14 minutes and played keep-away the rest of the game to secure a 2-1 victory in the 3A Boys Soccer State Semifinals.

The lone offensive highlight of the night came with 16 minutes left when Justin Brinkerhoff burst away from defenders and beat Miners goalkeeper Casey Sederman one on one.

The final 15 minutes of the game saw the Thunder get several opportunities, but none of the threats were especially close and the Miners were able to stall out the clock and advance to Saturday’s championship game.

Park City’s first goal came on a deep strike, about 30 yards, from Carl Turner. The second goal, about six minutes later, came on a controversial call against Desert Hills A.J. Yergensen. The referee’s ruling gave the Miners a penalty kick and an easy 2-0 lead after Will McFarlane pounded it through.

The flow of the game was intense after that, with Park City pulling back into a defensive position to protect its lead, only occasionally driving through for an offensive run.

Desert Hills, meanwhile, continued to pressure Sederman and the Park City defense. But with the added defender, even the sharp-passing Thunder had a hard time getting a good look.

Brinkerhoff’s pounder made it a game and gave the Thunder hope for the game’s final 16 minutes, but the Miners covered well and Sederman turned away any threat.

DH finishes the year 14-3-2 and is denied its first championship game in school history in boys soccer.

Park City, 12-5-1, will face region mate Wasatch in the 3A title game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Rio Tinto Stadium, home of Real Salt Lake.

The Wasps got a golden goal overtime win over Ogden in the later semifinal. Ben Powell scored both goals for undefeated Wasatch.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.

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