Sudden Sam: Parker’s PK sends Lone Peak boys soccer to 6A semifinals
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- Lone Peak goalkeeper Sam Parker (in blue) celebrates with teammates after making the winning penalty kick against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak goalkeeper Sam Parker takes the winning penalty kick against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak goalkeeper Sam Parker (in blue) celebrates with fans after a penalty kick shootout victory against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak goalkeeper Sam Parker celebrates making a stop of a penalty kick against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak’s Kien Cid scores a goal against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak’s Kien Cid scores a goal against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak boys soccer players celebrate a 6A quarterfinal win against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak goalkeeper Sam Parker (in blue) hugs a teammate after scoring the winning penalty kick against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak’s Diego Roberts (7) approaches the ball while a pair of Bingham defenders await him in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak’s Kien Cid (center) celebrates scoring a goal with teammates against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak’s Jonas Lamont (3) helps Bingham’s Isaac Morris to his feet in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak goalkeeper Sam Parker stops a penalty kick against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak’s Patrick Stevenson (11) dribbles against Bingham’s Mason Haycock in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak’s Juan Castro (31) goes after a ball against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak’s Kien Cid chases a ball against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
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- Lone Peak goalkeeper Sam Parker (left) and head coach Kyle Hartman participate in the coin toss before the start against Bingham in the 6A boys soccer quarterfinals on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
While awaiting the start of the penalty kick shootout in his team’s 5A boys soccer quarterfinal with Bingham on Thursday, Lone Peak goalkeeper Sam Parker turned to one of the game officials and said, “Are you ready for this?”
No one was more ready than Parker.
The senior captain not only stopped two Bingham shots in the PK session but also converted the winning kick, then sprinted over to the Knights fans to celebrate the 1-1 (4-2) victory.
Parker asked to take the potential game winner and made the most of his opportunity.
“I wanted that moment,” Parker said. “It was just a big thing for me, because that moment was taken from me last year in the semis against Bingham. There’s no greater joy that proving someone wrong. So this one is going out that one coach last year. I hope he saw that. If it came to PK’s today, I was ready for it. It was my year to step up and I had every confidence in my entire team. I was like, ‘Give me that last PK. Let me put this to bed.'”
Coming against No. 8 Bingham — Lone Peak’s playoff nemesis — made the win even sweeter.
“It’s kind of fitting that we go to PK’s, because it’s been PK’s the past two years in the state tournament with Bingham,” Knights first year head coach Kyle Hartman said. “But this team was ready. They are resilient. They’ve worked on this and they’ve practiced this.”
The top-seeded Knights took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Kein Cid in the 68th minute. It appeared Lone Peak was on its way to the semifinals, but Bingham’s Mason Simmons banged in a shot from 30 yards with just 2:27 remaining and the game went to overtime.
In the first 10-minute overtime session, the Miners almost won it when Alek Russell found himself behind the Lone Peak defense on a high-bouncing ball, but his kick sailed over the crossbar.
In the second overtime, Diego Roberts sent a shot past the Bingham goalkeeper that appeared to headed for the back of the net but defender Cole Lawrence came out of nowhere to slide in front of the goal and deflected the ball away.
Lone Peak shot first in the penalty kick session and Patrick Stevenson — who Hartman said missed his first PK opportunity in last year’s semifinal loss to Bingham — slotted the ball home. Parker made a diving stop on Stockton Colemere’s shot and Jonas Lamont made his to give the Knights the 2-1 advantage.
Miners goalkeeper Kai Bloomfield made a save and teammates Jaden Kim and Sam Leggat made their attempts to tie the score at 2-2. Jack Gardner followed by converting his kick for a 3-2 Lone Peak lead. Parker didn’t break either way against Lawrence on Bingham’s next shot but parried the ball away for his second save.
That set up Parker for his big moment, and he didn’t disappoint his teammates or the large home crowd.
Or his coach.
“When I first took the job, Sam was one of the first players I talked to,” Hartman said. “He really wanted to take on a leadership role with this team, and so I’ve worked a lot with him on what that means, what that looks like off the field and on the field. He’s done a great job. The boys follow him and feed off his energy. It’s just his confidence. He wanted these moments. He wants to put the team on his back, and he loves these pressure situations.”
Parker added: “I knew it (the shot) was going in before I took it. These are moments that you dream of, stepping up for your team and just putting it away for your community.”
The win sets up the Knights (16-1-0) in the 6A semifinals next Tuesday against No. 4 seed Salt Lake Academy, which edged No. 6 Skyridge 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
“We haven’t even made it to the final since 2005 when we won it so it’s just big steps for the program,” Parker said. “We’ve always been a high seed, but seem to get upset. But things are different this year, and we have just so much better vibes. I’d say the new coach, Hartman, has just done a great job of getting us all together.”
Harman said the main focus of the team has been on the mental side of the game.
“We’re excited, especially our seniors, who have been a part of this program for four years,” he said. “They’ve been a part of those teams that were talented, that had the talent to go far, but for whatever reason, they’ve come up short. So to overcome this obstacle is a big step for them, and they’re confident going to the semifinals, and they’re confident they can go to the end.”
