Lone Peak girls lacrosse cruises past Syracuse, Knight boys soccer loses in PKs
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- Lone Peak players shake hands with Syracuse players after the 6A playoff game in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak senior Thomsen Kramer (left) battles a Bingham player for the ball during the 6A playoff game in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Norah Lisonbee runs the ball up the field during the 6A playoff game against Syracuse in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak keeper Ianna Baldwin scoops up the ball during the 6A playoff game against Syracuse in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak and Syracuse players battle for the ball during the 6A playoff game in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak junior Sadie Neuenschwander runs the ball up the field during the 6A playoff game in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak and Bingham players battle for the ball during the 6A playoff game in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak junior Bridger Lucas (right) battles a Bingham player for the ball during the 6A playoff game in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak keeper Max Kendall dives on the ball during the 6A playoff game in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
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- Lone Peak junior Bridger Lewis (right) brings the ball up the field during the 6A playoff game in Highland on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
With two win-or-go-home 6A playoff games going on simultaneously at Lone Peak on Thursday afternoon, there were a lot of tense moments for fans of Knight girls lacrosse and boys soccer.
The Lone Peak girls lacrosse team overcame a slow start to pull away for the 15-6 win over Syracuse to keep its hopes of repeating as state champs alive.
Things didn’t go as well, however, for the No. 3-seeded Knight boys soccer team. Lone Peak had chances but couldn’t finish and ended losing to No. 6-seed Bingham, 0-0 (5-4 in penalty kicks).
Here’s a closer look at what happened in both games:
Lone Peak girls lacrosse beats Syracuse
The Knights found themselves in a bit of a precarious position in the final minutes of the first half.
Lone Peak lead 7-4, but the Titans had just scored and had a little momentum.
It didn’t last, though, as the Knights managed to score two quick goals before the end of the half.
“It really helped the girls to breathe a little bit because it was tied and back and forth in the beginning,” Lone Peak head coach Weslie Lundell said. “It was kind of like as long as we keep playing our game, hopefully it’ll just continue and we’ll be the cleaner team.”
The Knights did just that, holding Syracuse to just two goals in the second half, despite playing in uncomfortable conditions.
“We came out really slow,” Lundell said. “It’s been hot this week. I know everyone’s dealing with it. But we didn’t know how it was going to go since we’ve had so many cold and windy days leading up to state. Then all of a sudden this week it was hot, but they figured it out.”
Lone Peak won the 6A crown in 2023 but lost a lot of seniors from that team, so this group is forging its own path.
“A lot of these girls weren’t even on varsity last year,” Lundell said. “For a lot of them, it is just like, wow, this is really fun. They’ve been having a lot of fun together. They’re excited.
“We were talking about the chances of each progressing to each game and just telling them that there’s always that chance. As long as they keep putting in the work at practice, we can still get there. We’ll see.”
The No. 6-seeded Knights (12-5) will face the winner of the game between No. 3-seed Farmington and No. 14-seed Corner Canyon in the quarterfinals, which will take place at home sites.
Knight boys soccer loses to Bingham in penalty kicks
Finishing is the name of the game in soccer and if one team doesn’t do it, the other will find a way.
Lone Peak created a number of excellent scoring opportunities during the run of play in Thursday’s 6A quarterfinal game against Bingham, including earning a penalty kick, but couldn’t find a way to get the ball in the back of the net.
The Knights even played the last few minutes of regulation and both extra periods with a man advantage but couldn’t break through.
In the end, the season came down to a penalty kick shootout, one that had some drama.
Both teams made their first four shots before Lone Peak, which was shooting first, got a shot stopped on its fifth attempt.
Knight keeper Max Kendall kept Lone Peak hopes alive, however, with a big save on the fifth Miner attempt as well, forcing an extra shooter.
But things didn’t go in favor of the Knights on the sixth frame with Lone Peak getting stopped again and Bingham making its attempt.
That ended another solid season for the Knights, while the Miners advance to face American Fork in the semifinals of the 6A playoffs.
That game is scheduled to take place at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Tuesday.
