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South Jordan Journal

Bingham lacrosse advances in playoffs, finishes with winning record

Jul 25, 2018 02:48PM ● By Josh Mc Fadden

Bingham's Jacob Watkins (No. 3 in white) stays right on his Riverton opponent from a boys lacrosse game this past season. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Gwilliam)

By Josh McFadden | [email protected]

While it’s still at least a year and a half away from being a Utah High School Activities Association-sanctioned sport, lacrosse was no less intense and popular this past spring across the state. Just ask players on the Bingham Miners’ boys club.

Bingham reached the semifinals of the Class B state tournament, falling to eventual champion East 12-9 in a game played at Alta High School May 15. It was the first and only meeting of the season between the two clubs. 

The Miners picked up a pair of wins in the tournament, starting with a high-scoring 17-6 throttling of Riverton High School. The Miners had defeated Riverton 11-7 just a week and a half earlier. Two days after the first-round victory, the Miners won in a quarterfinal thriller, 7-6 over Fremont. 

Bingham had an up-and-down regular season, finishing 9-8 on the year. After seven games, the Miners were just 4-5, but the team bounced back to win five of its next seven games before dropping the regular season finale at Roy by the score of 13-8. 

The Miners scored in double figures in eight of its 17 regular season contests. On March 28, Bingham tallied 20 goals in a 19-point rout of nearby rival West Jordan. Bingham also had 17 goals in a 17-1 thrashing of Alta on April 13. Defensively, the Miners had an impressive seven games in which they limited the opponent to four goals or fewer. 

A pair of Miner players enjoyed First-Team All-State honors this past season. Jacob Haynes and goalkeeper James Christensen took home these accolades, while long stick midfielder (LSM) Chase Finsand and faceoff specialist (FOS) Derek Newton made the Second Team. Haynes was also the position MVP at short stick defensive midfielder (SSDM). Honorable Mention accolades went to midfielder Jacob Watkins and defender Sam Gwilliam. 

Christensen played in 18 games, saving 137 of the 244 shots he took. He had a save percentage of more than 56 percent. Dallin Tew led the team in points, pouring in 33 goals and 19 assists on the year. The attacker took 87 shots this past season. Keiton Jones took 95 shots, connecting on 16 of them. He recorded an impressive 33 assists to lead the team. Watkins was second on the squad with 19 goals. 

Teams across the state, including the Bingham boys, are eager to begin fully sanctioned play in the 2019–20 school year. As of July of this year, the UHSAA hadn’t yet determined whether the sport would take place over the fall or spring season.