High school girls lacrosse: Park City, Fremont punch tickets to championship game

Park City 16, Salem Hills 4

Park City punched another ticket to the 5A girls’ lacrosse championship Tuesday afternoon, rolling by No. 5 Salem Hills 16-4. The top-ranked Miners used a strong second half in which they outscored the Skyhawks 9-1 to extend their run of making every 5A championship.

Park City took a commanding 6-0 lead into the second quarter after controlling possession and converting across the first 12 minutes. But the Skyhawks were able to cut into that deficit after outscoring the Miners 3-1 in the second quarter for a 7-3 halftime score.

It was a nice response for the Skyhawks to keep the game within reach. But it was short-lived with the Miners’ depth and ability to rotate players regularly, which eventually wore down Salem Hills.

Natalia Szwajkun led all scorers in the game netting a trio of goals over the first two quarters and a second trio over the latter quarters. Sophia Mondschein added three goals and Coco Crawford and Avery Blair each added a pair for Park City.

As good as the Miners’ offense was, its defense was the star of the game.

“How lucky are we to have our last line of defense be Mckinsey Darling when (there’s) any crack in the defense,” said Park City coach Adam Ghitelman. “That is such a veteran group (on the backline). (They) play so well as a unit and (are) so athletic. But, also, they do like to take risks and chances so there’s times when ... we take an aggressive approach, a girl might sneak through, and to have Kinsey there just closing the door is such a luxury for us.”

It really was just another day on the field and another win for the reigning champions as they have cruised through most of their season in Ghitelman’s debut at the helm.

“We just love each other so much and every day we come out for each other and that really drives us to get the W,” said Szwajkun.

“Every year we work toward this moment, all season, all practice. It’s ‘get to the ship and win for each other.’ Coach Adam always says one play at a time and we follow that.”

Fremont 14, Olympus 13

In the second semifinal, No. 2 Fremont took down No. 6 Olympus, 14-13 in overtime. The loss marks the first time the Titans will not appear in the championship game since the 5A classification was added. The win returns the Silverwolves to the title game, where they won in 2024 in the 6A classification.

The semifinal was a beauty, with Fremont pulling ahead 7-2 after the first quarter, and Olympus not getting its first lead until 9:21 in the third quarter at 8-7.

The two teams continued their battle from there with Silverwolves regaining the lead late in the third and eventually pulling ahead 13-9 in the final frame. Something kicked in for Olympus from there, though, as the Titans reeled off four unanswered goals to send the game to overtime.

“That game was so nerve-racking, it was so crazy,” noted Fremont’s Greeley Kelley. “I just looked at my seniors and I was like, ‘we gotta do this for them.’”

Kelley was solid throughout the game, making 11 saves — none bigger than in the waning minute of regulation and early in overtime.

In overtime, Clara McCormick picked the perfect time to punch in her first goal of the match, one that proved golden.

“(McCormick is) our starting defender that we pull because she’s a difference maker,” explained Fremont coach Seth Jones. “Well, we start her on D, but at some point during the game, we like to pull her up on attack because she really does turn the tide. And, man, putting the game-winning goal in, that’s a difference maker.”

Despite Fremont being the higher seed, Olympus played well over the second half of the season, so much so that many felt the Titans would find their way to another championship game. But Fremont found some extra motivation early in the year to push the Silverwolves’ run across the season.

“When I read the lax (Utah Lacrosse Report) report, the introduction of 5A, and it said shaping up to be Olympus-Park City, I showed that to the girls and I was like, ‘Oh, hell no. ... We are not gonna let that happen,’” said Jones. “I think that just built a fire under them and they came out. You know, we’ve been here before, and we were underrated back then — still underrated.”

Fremont and Park City will play for the 5A title on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Zions Bank Stadium.