Boys' Semifinals In the Books, Championships Set for Saturday
Corner Canyon/Skyridge, Park City/Brighton, Juan Diego/Waterford
It was another beautiful day at Westminster University as six games took place with six teams punching a ticket to the 2026 boys championship games. The staff of Westminster pulled off 12 games in two days which is not an easy feat. They handled it well and I’m grateful for their hard work in making the semifinals a success.
One of the privileges I have covering this great sport is getting a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes moments. Over the last two days, I noticed how many tears were shed, both in victory and in defeat.
For coaches, those tears come from the hours they’ve poured into their teams and the joy of reaching a championship game. On the other side, there were coaches who cried because their season was over, and the group they spent the last year with will never be the same again. For some, it may have even been the last game they will ever coach.
For players, the tears come for all kinds of reasons. Pain, disappointment, pride and for their teammates. For some, it is the realization that their playing days are over. The sport they love to play suddenly becomes something they once played.
And then there are the parents and fans. They have spent countless hours in the stands, supporting their son or daughter, their friend, their teammate, someone they care about. They become part of the fabric of the program. So when the players and coaches shed a tear, they feel it too, and they shed one right along with them.
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Boys’ 4A Semifinal Recap
The 4A semifinal opener saw No. 1 Juan Diego beat No. 4 Green Canyon, 15-8. The Soaring Eagle carved out a 4-0 lead in the first quarter with goals by Parker Stolz, Kai Fairbanks, Jameson Wigton and Cooper Pecora. The Wolves scored with 4 seconds left in the quarter when Bennett Steed found space in the middle of the field on a sweep and bounced it in.
Fairbanks kicked off the scoring in the second quarter just 11 seconds in when Juan Diego won the faceoff and dished it to Fairbanks who took it the distance and scored. Stolz scored next for the Soaring Eagle before Bryson Papst of Green Canyon pulled one back. Juan Diego answered right back and just wouldn't let the Wolves get an advantage. Juan Diego took a comfortable 8-4 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was all Juan Diego who scored 5 goals and allowed just 1. The fourth quarter was won by the Wolves, 3-2, to make the final score 15-8.
”The boys came out and responded well,” said Juan Diego Head Coach Brad Tack. “Everyone was hustling and making plays.”
Noah Schuyler finished with 3 goals and 3 assists for Juan Diego. Trey Nicolodemous had 2 goals and 3 assists. Cooper Pecora won 21 of 25 faceoffs.
The second semifinal saw No. 2 Waterford and No. 3 Bear River matched up in a hard-nosed contest.
The first quarter was back-and-forth as teams went blow for blow. Andrew Rurka opened the scoring for Waterford, and LSM Luke Hunter scored again 30 seconds later, giving Waterford a quick 1-2 punch to start the game. Waterford looked to extend their lead, but goalie Daxton Chairez stood tall with two big saves on one possession. Bear River bounced back with a three-goal run of their own, with goals from Preston Wilkinson, Makye Rupp and Jace Gardner, who beat the defense with an impressive toe-drag to score. Waterford struck back in the substitution game, as Max Mishurda had a free run to goal, drew the defender, and found Kellen Kemper for the goal. The Bears made their own luck on their next goal, as a ground ball slipped through the defense and found Tucker Nielson for the goal. Waterford tied the game with five seconds left in the quarter, as Kemper forced the issue on an over-and-back, drawing a slide to find Pierce Hauber, who cashed in the opportunity, ending the quarter with the score tied at four.
Wylon Loveland’s hot start at the faceoff X carried into the second quarter, and the Bears would open the scoring quickly as Linkoln White found Ty Hess on a perfectly timed cut to the crease. At this point, Waterford was tired of the back-and-forth action and would go on a 6-goal run in less than five minutes to completely break the game open for the Ravens. The combination of Faceoff Specialist Aaron Sakaguchi and LSM Luke Hunter, on the wing and taking faceoffs himself, would swing the momentum in favor of the Ravens. Andrew Rurka would start the scoring run off an assist from Noah Chao. Hauber would score the next two, one solo and one assisted by Chao. Just as Bear River seemed to stop the run with a big save by Chairez, Max Mishurda turned on the burners to run down the outlet, cause a turnover, push the fast break, and find Kemper for the goal. Gavin Rurka must have been tired of Andrew getting all the glory, as he would assist the next two goals for the Ravens by winning his one-on-one match-up and finding open teammates Kemper and Hauber. Bear River would try to get back in the game and ended the quarter with some momentum as Linkoln White’s shot would be saved by Raven goalie Sean O’Brien, but the rebound would fall to Jace Gardner, who scored for the Bears. Just as the teams seemed ready to head into the half, Wilkinson would scoop up an overthrown Raven pass at the midline, push the fast break, and hit Gardner, who scored once again with only five seconds remaining, making the score 10-7 for Waterford at the half.
Waterford started the second half strong as Noah Chao scored on a snakey lefty jump shot from X, extending their lead to four. Bear River began to claw back once again. A Waterford fast break was a little too fast, and Bear River transitioned into their own fast break, leading to a goal by Gardner from Wilkinson. Bear River would get a man-up opportunity on a hold and cash in as Gardner assisted White. Loveland would win the next faceoff for the Bears, and Bear River would call a timeout to capitalize on the crucial possession. Waterford would come out of the timeout in a zone defense, and Wilkinson would find an answer with a bouncer from the outside, cutting Waterford’s lead to one. Just as things seemed to be going Bear River’s way, Sakaguchi would win the faceoff to Luke Hunter, who would kick off the fast break, leading to a Noah Chao goal and seizing all momentum for Waterford. Hunter wasn’t satisfied with just assists; he would score again, running through the help defense to extend the lead. Mishurda would show off his athleticism and toughness once again with a great roll dodge, finishing through contact to cap the three-goal run for the Ravens. Bear River would end the quarter strong with another goal by Gardner, making the score 14-11 for Waterford going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was the Sean O’Brien show for Waterford, as the freshman goalie would snuff out any and all opportunities for Bear River. O’Brien turned defense into offense, kicking off a fast break after a big save, and LSM Luke Harper would finish his hat trick with an assist from Kemper. Following another O’Brien save, Mishurda would sweep the defense to find Kemper again, extending the lead. Kemper would find Andrew Rurka on the man-up to cap off an impressive fourth quarter and overall performance for the Ravens against a tough and scrappy Bear River team, by the score of 17-11.
For Waterford, it felt like anyone who stepped on the offensive half of the field made critical plays at the right time. Pierce Hauber had 4 goals, Kellen Kemper had 4 goals and an assist, and if you looked at the box score, you’d have no idea that Luke Hunter is an LSM, as he scored 3 goals and an assist for the Ravens.
“It’s a special group,” said Waterford Head Coach Will Manny. “We’ve been really good at playing in the moment and we found a groove in the second half and we’re playing really good lacrosse right now which is all I can ask for as a coach.”
No. 1 Juan Diego and No. 2 Waterford will faceoff in the 4A championship on Saturday at 10:00am at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman. Juan Diego won the first regular-season matchup, 11-10, in overtime. Waterford then beat the Soaring Eagle on May 8 in the Region 10 title game, 11-9.
Juan Diego has made it to six championship games in its history. Last year, the Soaring Eagle fell to Judge, 15-4, in the 4A championship. In 2017, Juan Diego beat Brighton, 10-9, in the Class A championship. In 2016, the Soaring Eagle lost to Brighton, 8-6, in the Class A championship. The Soaring Eagle won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 in the Division I ranks. Its first championship appearance was in 2004 when they lost to Waterford, 12-5, in the Division I championship.
For Waterford, this is the twelfth appearance in a championship game spanning back to the first championship game in 1994. Waterford has won 5 times (2003 Division I, 2004 Division I, 2006 Division I, 2013 Division II, 2016 Class B)
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Boys’ 5A Semifinal Recap
No. 1 Park City controlled the game from end-to-end en route to beating No. 12 East, 12-6 to advance to its eighth straight championship game.
Park City started fast and never slowed down. Henry Alnwick and Brett Hughes got on the board early for the Miners, both goals coming within the first three minutes of the game. However, it would take only 14 seconds for East to respond as Reilly Pearson-Ortolani would win the faceoff and find Cade Black to get the Leopards on the board. Normally, for East, a goal like that is just what they need to get rolling, and it’s important to slow the game down. Park City, however, wanted to play faster. Wade Birch got the offense moving with assists on back-to-back goals to Hunter Hutchinson and Thomas Fannon, the second coming with a minute left in the quarter. Just when the Miners thought they had a comfortable 4-1 lead at the end of the first, East would score again only 9 seconds later as Reilly Pearson-Ortolani would win the face-off into a fast break and Cade Black would find Oscar Keegan for the goal.
The second quarter played out nearly identically to the first. A two-goal Park City run answered by an immediate goal by East, followed by another Park City run, for three goals this time, followed by an East goal to end the quarter. Hutchinson would kick off the scoring for the Miners, and Alnwick would add to his total. Not to be outdone by his brother, Bailey Pearson-Ortolani would get on the board for East off an assist by Eli Brink. Park City would bounce right back, however, as Birch would score his first goal of the afternoon, then assist Alnwick on the next goal for the Miners. Hutchinson would cap the three-goal run and stretch Park City’s lead. Once again, East would bounce back the Pearson-Ortolani connection as Reilly would feed Will for the goal, which put Park City’s lead at 9-4 going into the half.
Bailey Pearson-Ortolani must have felt left out and decided to get on the scoreboard as well with the first goal of the second half. Park City would answer, as they usually did, with a two-goal run. First by Tommy Davis, then by Crew Kimble with the assist from Alnwick. East would score the last goal of the quarter once again as another Pearson-Ortolani combination was effective, and Bailey would find Reilly for the goal, cutting the lead to 11-6 going into the fourth quarter.
East is no stranger to rallying from large deficits, as they have against many teams this season. Unfortunately for the Leopards, they were up against one of the few defenses that could keep up with their blend of size, skill, and speed. The Miners were everywhere. Just as you thought you had them beat, you’d roll back into a double team. You think you have an easy ground ball, and suddenly it’s a fast break the other way. Even if you managed to get by the defense, you had to get a shot past senior goalie Max Gordon, who had 10 saves on the day as the Miners shut out the highly potent Leopards offense in the 4th quarter. Wade Birch would score once more to cap off a dominant Park City victory with the score of 12-6.
No. 2 Brighton defeated the No. 3 seeded Alta and cross-town rival, 16-10, in the nightcap.
At the beginning of the game, the energy in the air was palpable. Both fan bases, especially the student sections, were looking for something to excite them. Ryder Linford would get the Brighton fans on their feet as he caused a turnover, which Gabe Carrera turned into a breakaway goal. Alta would respond right away as Jace Brown would score a brilliant backhanded goal on a wraparound from X, drawing loud cheers from Alta’s student section. It’s hard to say the play of the game happened early in the first quarter of a semifinal playoff game, especially one that was nearly tied in the fourth quarter. However, when it comes to a goalie goal, it is always the play of the game1. Brighton goalie Landon Stosich would get the ball on the clear and see no one in front of him, so he jogs the ball up the field. Suddenly, he’s past the midline, and no one is guarding him. Even more suddenly, he’s in the box, and no one is guarding him as he winds up a shot; no one is guarding him, so Stosich shoots and scores.
The Brighton fans and players exploded in cheers and carried that momentum as Carrera would net two more, scoring a hat-trick in the first quarter. It would take Alta six more minutes following the goalie goal to get on the board again. JJ Massi would hit his patented hitch step to free up his left hand to score for Alta. The Hawks would win the following face-off, but Declan Carrera would force the turnover, leading to a Zac Anderson goal with 41 seconds remaining. Alta didn’t want Brighton to go on another run, and Beckham Horoba snatched back the momentum by scoring with 17 seconds left in the quarter, which ended with the score at 5-3.
Alta would get an extra-man opportunity early in the quarter, but Stosich would prove he can do more than just score goals, making three big saves on the Bengals’ possession. Brighton would convert on their next two possessions with goals from Dylan Despain, who would then assist Anderson on the Bengals’ next goal. Alta needed to find a way to regain momentum, and Cole Haddock would drive through the heart of Brighton’s defense to score after the faceoff. Anderson and Brighton would bounce back as he scored again, completing his first-half hat trick. By this point, Gabe Carrera was drawing a lot of attention from the defense and used it to his advantage to find Despain open for another goal. Trevor Goins would cut into the lead with a wrap-around goal for Alta, sending the teams into halftime with the score 9-5 for Brighton.
Alta needed to find a way to fight back into this game, but Stosich turned them away twice on their opening possession. Brighton would then convert on an extra-man opportunity as Burton Klc scored for the Bengals. Luckily for Alta, Kellen Torina found a groove at the faceoff X, winning the next three faceoffs for the Hawks. Goins would score an over-the-shoulder goal on an assist from Jace Brown. Alta would then convert on an extra-man opportunity as Goins fed Horoba for the goal. Alta goalie Bridger Tueller made some huge saves at the end of the quarter to keep Brighton’s lead at 10-7 going into the final period.
Alta capitalized on a failed Brighton clear early in the quarter when Goins found Colby Blackham on the fast break, cutting the lead to two. Both teams had close calls at goal as Carrera hit the post and Stosich was forced into a great save, each looking to break through. Horoba came up clutch for Alta, sneaking a shot near post on the wrap from X, cutting the Brighton lead to one. Then, Brighton went on a run. It’s such an easy sentence to write, but it’s impossible to describe how it feels. Nobody feeds off momentum like Brighton. One little spark causes an inferno that is impossible to extinguish. It can be something as simple as Ramirez winning the faceoff and drawing a penalty. Carrera feeds to Anderson, goal, Brighton by 2. Ramirez wins the faceoff again and hits Carrera, goal, Brighton by 3. Ramirez wins again; Cole Murray finds Carrera, goal; Brighton by 4. Ramirez wins again; penalty on Alta; Luke Cole finds Carrera; goal; Brighton by 5. Ramirez needs a break. Peter Skinner comes in, wins the faceoff, and Brighton calls a timeout. Bode Linford starts top right, sprints all the way around the goal, wraps, and scores, Brighton by 6. All of that happened in a little more than three minutes of game time. Alta went from down by 1, ready to tie, to down 6, wondering what just hit them. Each team would tack on another goal, but it had already been decided. With one run, Brighton flipped the game on its head and advanced to the 5A UHSAA Boys Lacrosse Championship game.
The Bengals will once again face Park City in the 5A championship. The game will be at 1:00pm on Saturday at Zions Bank Stadium. The Miners won the regular-season game, 5-3, on April 3.
Park City has been the last team Brighton has played each season for the last seven seasons.
2025: Brighton beats Park City in the 5A championship, 10-9.
2024: Brighton beats Park City in the 5A championship, 10-3.
2023: Park City beats Brighton, 10-8, in the 5A semifinals.
2022: Park City beats Brighton, 19-7, in the 5A quarterfinals.
2021: Park City beats Brighton, 13-7, in the Class A semifinals.
2019: Park City beats Brighton, 8-7, in the Class A championship.
2018: Park City beats Brighton, 7-6, in the Class A championship.
This game will be the tenth championship game for Brighton and the eleventh for Park City.
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Boys’ 6A Semifinal Recap
The No. 1 Corner Canyon Chargers advanced to the 6A championship game with a dominant 22-3 win over No. 4 Mountain Ridge.
Corner Canyon jumped out to an 8-0 lead after the first quarter of play with Kampton Dutton and Pierson DeGracie taking part in all but one. The scoring began with DeGracie who scored the opening goal on a sweep through the defense. Dutton scored back-to-back goals that were assisted by DeGracie within 36 seconds to give the Chargers the 3-0 lead. DeGracie capitalized on a fast restart and scored then Dutton scored the next two. Ren Neilsen scored at the 2:47 mark for the Chargers then DeGracie closed the scoring in the first quarter
The second quarter saw Cameron Crayk get a goal for Corner Canyon then Mountain Ridge scored its first goal of the game when Trace Hook found the back of the net. The Chargers added 5 straight goals to close out the half.
The second half was more of the same with the Chargers securing its 6th straight championship berth. Corner Canyon is playing great lacrosse at the right time.
In the second 6A semifinal, Skyridge used a strong second half to beat Farmington, 14-10 to advance to its first championship game.
The Falcons came out hot and had back-to-back goals by Dane Lambert. Dominic Weaver added a goal with 5:43 left in the first quarter to give Skyridge a 3-0 lead. The Phoenix fought back and scored when Wyatt Salmon stepped down and found the back of the net. Weaver would score again for the Falcons then Josh Vashaw pulled one back for Farmington when he got a feed from X from Salmon, turned and fired a shot into the goal. Dylan Forsgren extended the Skyridge lead to 3 with 40 seconds left in the quarter when he roll dodged towards the middle of the field and got his hands free and shot top shelf.
Forsgren opened the scoring in the second quarter when the Falcons beat the Farmington 10-man ride and found themselves with a numbers advantage that led to a goal. Farmington stopped the momentum when Hudson Anderson collected a ball at midfield and led a fast break that went to Kai Beynon who found Cole Smith who buried the ball. Kaiden Hobbs added a goal for Skyridge when the Falcons defense caused a turnover and converted on a fast break. Grayson Sant scored a minute later for Farmington when he collected his own rebound and slotted it near pipe. On the ensuing faceoff, Eli Wallace won the faceoff and scored for the Phoenix, making the score 7-5 in favor of the Falcons. Smith scored late in the quarter for Farmington on a fast break when Austin Briggs collected a loose ball on the defensive end and took it the distance, finding Smith who shot low to high and stung the top right corner, making the score 7-6 for Skyridge at the break.
A three-goal run to open the quarter for the Falcons was ultimately the difference that Farmington couldn't overcome. Tamanuitoi Johnson, Cabell Beuchner and Weaver were the scorers for Skyridge. Farmington found the net at the 1:05 mark when Salmon found Smith for the goal.
A four-goal run began the fourth quarter for Skyridge to make the score 14-7 midway through the fourth. Farmington didn't give up and pushed hard to score three more goals to make the final score, 14-10. The Falcons are flying high and ready to take on the Chargers.
The 6A Championship will be held at 4:00pm on Saturday at Zions Bank Stadium. In the regular-season matchup, Corner Canyon won 15-10. Corner Canyon has won 6 championships: 2015 and then 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. This will be the first championship game for Skyridge.
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That’s it for this today! See you on the sidelines tomorrow.
It’s no secret that I love a goalie goal! Thanks to Brian Barnhill for the shout out on the broadcast. The reason I love it is because it’s rare, but it’s also one of my best calls on a broadcast. The year was 2017. The Utah club team was playing Colorado and the Buffs loved to 10-man. Utah Goalie Quinton Swinney nailed a full field goal to tie the game at 8. You could say I was a little excited… My man Matt Duke-Rosati was on the call with me which I’ll never forget! Here’s the clip on Twitter:
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