COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Skyler Milne scored a hat trick as Brighton avenged a loss to Bingham earlier in the season with a 4-1 win to advance into the semifinals of the 5A state playoffs.
"It was definitely extra motivation," said Milne in reference to the double-overtime loss that Bingham dealt to the Bengals clear back in March.
Brighton jumped out to an early 2-0 lead to assure that extra time would not be needed this time around. In the 23rd and 38th minutes Taylor Fankhauser set up Milne perfectly with a cross over the middle that Milne was able to head into the goal.
The second half saw more of the same as Fankhauser finished off a perfectly executed breakaway to extend Brighton's lead to 3-0 in the 55th minute.
"Coming out of the half we wanted to keep going forward. We didn't want to have a letdown and let them back in it," Milne said.
Shortly thereafter in the 65th minute, Milne put the final nail in the coffin with another header for a goal off a corner kick.
"It was awesome," said Brighton coach Harold Foerster. "No complaints."
Along with the offense, Brighton's defense put together a very strong performance. The Bengals were more physical and were quick to the ball. The effort resulted in a limited number of shots on goal for Bingham.
"It's been the same defense the whole season," Foerster said. "They just stepped up another notch."
Late in the game Bingham finally put a tally on the scoreboard as Sam Watkins found Parker Bengtzen with a perfect pass that Bengtzen buried in the upper right hand corner of the net. The nice play was too little and too late for the Miners who would remain scoreless for the remainder of the match.
Despite the competitive nature of the two schools, Bingham and Brighton enjoy a civil rivalry in boys soccer. "I have a lot of friends and teammates (in comp soccer) on Bingham and I love them all." said Milne. Watkins and Fankhauser will soon be teammates as well, as both players have committed to play soccer at BYU.
On Tuesday, Brighton will clash with the Weber Warriors at Woods Cross in the semifinal round. The kickoff will take place at 4:15 p.m.
email: smundee@desnews.com