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Show Resurgent Silver Kicks hold third-place Orem to 2-2 tie by DAVE ADLER. Record staff writer The sands they are shifting. The Park City Silver Kicks, the doormat of the Utah Soccer Association for much of the season, have found their game and are threatening to upend the betting tables. On Monday, the Silver Kick paid a call on Orem and battled the league power to a 2-2 tie. And the game still may not be over, according to coach Garry Moore, who will file a protest with the league office that his team was denied a late-game direct kick which might have changed the outcome of the game. "Late in the game, an Orem player was called with a penalty for dangerous play against our left winger, Tori Pillinger," said Moore. "In the rule book, when such a call is made, a direct kick is supposed to be awarded. But the referee only gave us an indirect kick. In that situation, Tori's direct kick might have won the game for us. So, I'm appealing the call." Whether or not Moore wins his appeal, the Silver Kicks showed that they have become a new team since Moore assumed the coaching reigns about a month ago. Although they stand 2-11-2 on the year, the Kicks are 1-1-2 in the past month. And what is uplifting about this tie is that it came on the road against the number three team in the league. "We played an excellent game, just a helluva game," said Moore. "We should have won." The Park City team opened up a 2-0 lead at the half and held it until Orem scored once midway through the second half and again with five minutes left in the game. "We got a little tired late in the game and had some mental lapses," said Moore. "If we get a little more consistency we'll be a good team." The Silver Kicks, who like Orem had only 10 players, scored their first goal about 10 minutes into the game, with Mona Cotter getting credit for the score. Pillinger started the play with a pass from the left wing to Leslie Nielsen in the middle of the field. Nielsen got the ball down in front of the Orem goal and a crowd of players began kicking at the ball. "An Orem defensive player probably kicked it in, which sometimes happens," said Moore. "Mona was in the fracas and she got credit for the goal." The Kicks struck again, 15 minutes later on a classic soccer play with Pillinger booting it past the Orem goalie. The play developed when Nina Cohen, who was playing left mid-field, passed to Cotter. Pillinger was running full speed, angling across the field from the left wing position when Cotter fed the ball to her. "It was a well executed give-and-go," said Moore. "We've been practicing triangle passing and it worked just like it was supposed to." Pillinger's goal closed the scoring for the Kicks, but Park City might well have poured in several more scores. "I'd say we had the ball in their half of the field about 75 ' percent of the game," said Moore. "We just couldn't quite get it into the net, and we had so many scoring opportunities.'' Orem scored its first goal of the game midway through the second half principally because of a mental lapse by the Kicks. Orem was awarded an indirect kick when the Kicks incurred a penalty, but the locals thought the referee had signaled a direct kick and, according to Moore, "we just stood around while they booted it into the net. We just weren't set up for it." With about six minutes to play, Park City appeared to be holding the high ground. And then Heidi Hunter, the Kicks' goalie, was kicked in the head and had to be I removed from the game. "She was I dazed, though she didn't suffer any major injuries,',' said Moore. "She's j all right." V, 1 Hunter's injury reduced the team to nine players, one less than the I Orem contingent. And Orem made the I most of its advantage, when it struck a j minute later for the tying goal. "We played a very solid defensive game," said Moore. "Nicki Koch and Ann Gasparotti played a helluva game for us. And Jean Brown played ! an excellent game as well." I "I think we've come a long way," . he added. "We're a much improved team, but we still have a ways to go." The Kicks don't get any rest this week. They played Pan World, the league's number one team at 6 :30 p.m. Wednesday, June 5 and will host Orem at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. |