The Deseret News announced its All-State teams for 3A girls’ soccer on Tuesday, with three Park City High School players named to the squads — one on the first team and two as honorable mentions.
Senior defender Bailey Hodgson was the first-team award winner, owing to her work along a Park City backline that allowed only two goals in Region 10 play. Senior forward Lindsay Gordon and senior goalie Hannah Gardner were honorable mentions.
After starting the season in the midfield, Hodgson moved back to the center back spot to help strengthen the Miners’ defense heading into region play.
“We asked Bailey to step into that center back role and she handled it with poise,” Park City Coach Chip Cook said. “She worked very well with Bailey Hoglin [the other center back]. That position requires a lot of teamwork. That allowed us to move Claire West up in the center midfield. [Hodgson’s] versatility allowed other people to shine.”
However, Cook was quick to point out that the entire Park City backline was worthy of All-State honors.
“We only allowed two goals all region and we scored 39,” she said. “A lot of that was because of our entire defense. They were so solid.”
Cook said Gordon may not have had the number of goals some of the other honorees scored, but she impacted the game in other ways.
“Lindsay was hard for other defenses to contain this year,” she said. “She made other defenses miserable. She didn’t score many goals on her own, but she was part of creating most of our goals. She did that with her speed and tenacity. She had a ton of assists. She was so valuable to us for so many reasons.”
Cook mentioned Gardner’s steady presence in Park City’s goal and her communication skills with the Miner defenders. She also noted that Gardner was named Region 10’s All-Region defensive MVP. Hodgson and Gordon were also named to the All-Region first team, along with West. Jess DiCaprio and Kristen Mosher were second-team honorees.
Cook said the All-State voters — the other 3A coaches — have a tough task when it comes to judging the Miners.
“The only 3A coaches that see us play are the four teams in our region and the two teams we played in the playoffs,” she said. “So we’re at the mercy of these other coaches who haven’t seen our team play.”
Park City’s tough non-region schedule traditionally features only 4A and 5A schools, which limits goal-scoring opportunities, Cook said. Meanwhile, all the first-team forwards had a minimum of 17 goals.
“Of course I believe the kids that got selected absolutely deserve to be recognized,” she said. “But I believe we had a few more who deserved recognition, too. We don’t have someone who’s scoring 35 goals a year. If you score 35 goals, you’re going to make the team.”
Logan midfielder Demi Lopez was named the 3A MVP, scoring 19 goals and dishing out 10 assists while leading Logan to the state title. Stansbury forward Michaela Didericksen, a first-team honoree, led all 3A players with a whopping 39 goals.