By the time you read this, the Bingham Miners girls soccer team will have played the defending 5A state champions at their place, the class 6A state quarterfinalists, the 6A semifinalists and three other schools — all of whom made it into last year’s state tournament. 

You might ask yourself why the Miners would go to such trouble in all of their preseason games to schedule such brutal competition. Yet the answer to that question would come from the upset that the Miners suffered in the second round of last year’s 6A state tournament — in overtime and on their home field. 

You could go as far back as the 2019 6A quarterfinals if you wanted, when Bingham lost to American Fork 4-2 in penalties after an agonizing game that went to two overtime periods and was so razor-thin that both teams had to go to a PK shootout to determine the winner. 

That the first game of the season came against American Fork this year on Aug. 2 had little to do with that fateful night in 2019, but the game three years later was just as memorable, as the Miners chiseled away at American Fork after they gave up a first half goal. But Bingham couldn’t strike back hard and swiftly enough, it seemed, losing 1-0 in another battle between two contenders. 

The Miners then grabbed their chisels and boots and headed on the big yellow school bus, rounding Interstate-215 on their way up the hill to Skyline. With their cleats grabbing into the turf at the foot of the Wasatch, the Miners gave the defending class 5A state champions all they could handle in this preseason struggle on Aug. 4. But it was Skyline who got a goal late in the game to hand the Miners a 4-3 defeat. 

Back at home on Aug. 9, the Miners watched as another highly regarded 5A team, Alta, came in and scored three times, twice in the second half, to hand Bingham its third straight loss [0-3] of the preseason. 

On Aug. 11, however, the Miners struck first — then gave up two goals in each half to Corner Canyon at home, in a 4-1 loss. 

Reeling after four straight Ls, you would think that the Miners would perhaps stop chiseling, right? 

That’s not what happened on Aug. 16 at Pleasant Grove. Against last year’s 6A state semifinalists at their place, the Miners acted like pirates and even spotted PG an early goal — before pillaging these Vikings and smashing in two goals in the second half, including the game winner with under a minute left, in a 2-1 victory. 

Senior midfielder Ruby Cordova scored her second goal in as many games [she also had the lone tally against Corner Canyon] and senior forward Greta Davis notched a goal as well, as the duo looks to close out their careers at Bingham and chisel a space big enough to hold a Region 3 trophy and perhaps a 6A state championship trophy as well. 

Only time will tell for this Miners team that returns seven seniors and a slew of other role players who remember what happened last year when their season ended rather abruptly. 

For now though, the season is far from over as they’re still merely in the midst of a brutal preseason stretch that continues until Aug. 30, when they’ll take the field for their Region 3 opener against crosstown rival Herriman, at home. λ