Courtesy Mike Mills, Skyridge High

American Fork’s Miller Hall envisioned it the night before, and on Tuesday made it a reality.

And by so doing, the senior midfielder scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the Cavemen’s 2-1 win over Skyridge in the 6A boys soccer semifinal round.

With just under 20 minutes, and with the game locked at 1-1, Hall set up his free kick just outside of the penalty box and let in a beautifully-struck shot that just snuck inside of the far right post.

“It was probably one of the greatest feelings that I’ve felt my whole life,” a jubilant Hall said after the match. “All season I’ve been lining up for free kicks and I’ve taken about 40 this year and haven’t made a single one. But I guess this one just sort of felt different.”

Given how well-executed the kick was, it’s hard to believe what Hall admitted. But practice makes perfect, and at the most critical juncture of the season, he came up big.

Courtesy Mike Mills, Skyridge High

“Miller has practiced those for his entire career, and he’s missed a lot over the top, but today was his day, and he put it right where it needed to be,” said American Fork Coach Casey Waldron.

Hall’s goal capped off an otherwise physical and hard-fought contest that served up multiple collisions resulting in several yellow cards being issued. A lot of the physicality was aimed at American Fork’s Lewis Knecht, who is widely considered the state’s best player. Knecht withstood all of it, locked in and was central to most of the scoring opportunities for his team.

Despite missing at least three shots at an open goal, Knecht’s efforts finally bore fruit in the game’s 51st minute.

The beneficiary of a corner kick, Knecht acted quickly, setting the ball up and letting loose a low-driving kick toward his teammate, Preston Osborne, who was making a run to the near post. Osborne, in an almost casual manner, touched the ball through an extremely small window to tie the game at 1-1.

“We locked eyes and we knew it was off a fastbreak and they’d be out of (position,)” Osborne described. “I called his name. I said, ‘Lew!,’ and he played it in perfectly and I was able to get there and just poke it in.”

Courtesy Mike Mills, Skyridge High

Just poking it in belies how difficult the execution was, at least from Waldron’s view, who admittedly missed the precise moment Osborne touched it while looking the other way on the sidelines.

“That near post is so dangerous if you have the timing and you’re willing to lay your body out, and that’s what Preston did,” Waldron said. “…That is what we teach him and I’m glad he actually executed it because that’s a really hard thing to do.”

Osborne’s and Hall’s goals highlighted a second half which American Fork dominated for almost the entire 40 minute period. All of it was preceded by a relatively disappointing first half which saw the Falcons take a late 1-0 lead into the break following a goal from Christian Pole in the 40th minute.

“At the end of the first half we were still jittery,” Waldron said. “So we just needed to sit down, take a break for a minute and our directive was simply to find a combination play, take some deep breaths, and play the way we’re capable of playing.”

A lot of it was just staying focused and dealing with the intense physical play served up by Skyridge.

Courtesy Mike Mill, Skyridge High

“When calls don’t go your way you want to get down, but we made sure to just stay up and make sure that we’re helping each other even when things don’t go our way,” Osborne said. 

While Osborne dealt with some of the physical play, it was Knecht who was at the center of most of it, as has been the case all season long, according to Waldron. As can well be imagined, the physical play was beginning to work on Knecht’s mentality late in the season, to which Waldron and his coaches addressed it.

“We kind of sat down a few games ago and when he started to get a little bit heated and we just had him commit to us, as coaches and say that he plays for his teammates and for (himself), and beyond that (he) doesn’t have control of what happens,” Waldron related. “He’s taken that challenge and it’s been fun to watch.”

Indeed Knecht was seen consoling devastated Skyridge players after the match while most of his team celebrated, mindful of their emotions despite the numerous shots taken at him throughout the match.

With the win American Fork advances to the 6A state championship where it will have a chance to defend its state title when taking on Bingham on Thursday.

Courtesy Mike Mills, Skyridge High

Lone Peak loses shootout versus Bingham

No. 1-seeded Lone Peak came out on the wrong side of Tuesday’s other 6A semifinal game, taking a 0-0 shootout loss to Bingham.

Despite controlling the action for most of the second half, the Knights saw multiple scoring opportunities snuffed out. That action continued into the two overtime periods with both teams failing to score a single goal during live play. The Miners then finally came out on top of an extended shootout period 12-11.

Mountain View stands tall despite loss

No. 8-seeded Mountain View lost a tough overtime game to Crimson Cliffs 2-1 in 4A state semifinal action. It was an end to an otherwise remarkable season for the Bruins, which saw them knock off No. 1-seeded Murray in the quarterfinal round, among other breakthrough achievements, which included wins over rivals Orem and Provo.

Courtesy Mike Mills, Skyridge High

“I’m happy with how we played today. We played the way we wanted to, but unfortunately we just lost out in overtime,” said Mountain View Coach Mike Raffael. “I’m so proud of my team and everything they’ve accomplished this year.”

Crimson Cliffs led off the scoring, finding the back of the net right after the start of the second half for an early lead. Bruin senior defender Rodrigo Cuevas responded just 11 minutes later to tie things up at 1-1 and eventually send the game to overtime.

Seven minutes into the first overtime period, however, saw Crimson Cliffs kick through a goal for the sudden death win and end Mountain View’s remarkable 2025 season.

“This team went 0-15 just two years ago, but they’ve overcome so much and worked so hard. I just couldn’t be prouder of all of them,” Raffael said. “They overcame some diversity problems this team has had and really focused on coming together and working together. They got to know each other and really became close on and off the field. That’s what showed in our play this season. It made them fight for each other and the school, and that’s what made this season so special.”

Raffael believes this year’s team set a standard through their play for future Bruin teams to benefit from.

Courtesy Mike Mills, Skyridge High

“We lose a lot of seniors next year, but we have a lot of great players coming up, and hopefully more that will see that we can play great soccer here at Mountain View,” Raffael said. “Our staff here is phenomenal, but the credit goes to the players and everything they accomplished this season.”

American Fork and Skyridge players battle for the ball during the 6A semifinal game at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

American Fork and Skyridge players battle for the ball during the 6A semifinal game at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

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