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The transition was expected to be a rough one, comparatively speaking.

Park City's girls' soccer team had hardly been tested in Region 10 over the past three seasons, advancing 27 consecutive region contests without a defeat.

This year's realignment was sure to change that, it seemed, with defending Class 3A state champion Juan Diego and Judge Memorial joining the region. But the Miners made the transition to the new Region 10 look easy, and outscored opponents 19-6 in a 4-0 region start.

Then came a bump in the road. Back-to-back defeats at home against Juan Diego (5-0) and on the road against Uintah (3-2) have temporarily staggered the Miners. At least they hope it's only temporary.

"I'd say it's a little rough patch," junior midfielder Rachael Papez said. "We're still planning to win all the rest of our games and start a new streak now."

Coach Chip Cook said a confluence of events led to the two-game slide entering this week.

"We've had a lot of stuff going on and we need to hunker down and focus," Cook said. "We hope that after homecoming and midterms and all that stuff is out of the way, that we'll get back on track here."

The shutout defeat against Juan Diego was Park City's first region loss since 2007.

"We played the worst game we've played all season," Cook said of the 5-0 defeat. "We just weren't connecting at all on the field."

The Miners, who reached the Class 3A state final a season ago, appear not to be in danger of missing the playoffs with little more than a week remaining in the regular season.

Park City entered the week with a two-game lead over Judge Memorial and Uintah for third place in Region 10.

Park City lost seven seniors from last year's runner-up team and starts just two seniors this season — Emily Corrington and Taylor Hodgson.

"We lost a lot of really good seniors," Papez said. "And I think a lot of people didn't expect us to be very good again, but I feel as a team we are more connected than last year."

Sophomores Jessica Dancy and Maggie Reigelsberger (eight goals each) have provided much of the offense, and Hodgson and Anneke Esinger each had four goal entering the week.

A roster filled with underclassmen makes for a promising future, but Cook said that doesn't mean Park City has written this season off.

"I feel confident we can be a factor in the end," Cook said. "Right now's not the crucial time. Let's face it, the last two weeks are the only two weeks that matter."

Papez said the players believe the more challenging region will better prepare them for the challenges of the postseason.

"When we played hard teams in state [playoffs] last year, we weren't really ready for them," Papez said. "This year most of the games we play are again good opponents and we have to prepare for them and we are learning from that." —

Miner setback

The Park City girls' soccer team started the Region 10 season 4-0 before back-to-back losses to Juan Diego and Uintah.

Juan Diego loss snapped a streak of 31 consecutive region games without a defeat. That streak dated back to 2007.

A young team, Park City is paced offensively by sophomores Maggie Reigelsperger and Jessica Dancy, each with eight goals entering the week.