Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Farmington's girls lacrosse team won their first state title, defeating Mountain Ridge.
- Kate Carter scored the decisive goal with 90 seconds left, securing a 10-9 victory.
- Farmington overcame a 6-3 deficit, ending Mountain Ridge's four-year championship game streak.
HERRIMAN — For five years and back-to-back heartbreaking losses in the state semifinals, Farmington's girls lacrosse team waited for a championship breakthrough.
The Phoenix weren't going to wait any longer.
Kate Carter scored two goals, including the decisive game-winner with 90 seconds remaining as the Phoenix won their first girls lacrosse championship in school history Thursday night with a 10-9 win at Zions Bank Stadium.
"We've been working so hard for three years, and we got to the semifinals two years in a row. This was finally the year we got it," Carter said.
"Everyone on my team works so hard. Every day in practice, every minute of practice, we've been working so hard — and I think it showed on the field tonight."
Farmington (18-3) had all the momentum of the momentum, including a 13-game win streak and a 10-0 run through Region 1 en route to Thursday's final.
Carter gave the Phoenix a 3-2 lead midway through the second quarter, too. But Mountain Ridge equalized just before the break to set up the winner-take-all second half.
The Sentinels (17-4) rolled to start the half, using the experience of four straight championship game appearances (and a 6A title in 2022) to take a 6-3 lead with goals by Olivia Cannon, Karlee Farnsworth and Kalli Guymon and took all the momentum from a tight game.
But by force or by luck, Farmington took it all right back.
POV: You're @FHSPHXATHLETICS girls lacrosse, and you just won your first 6A state title 🔥 pic.twitter.com/R5lGIRobGS
— KSL.com Sports (@KSLcomSports) May 23, 2025
"We've been down in other games, and have been able to build some grit and resiliency as a skillset, to forget what's happened and play the next play … to forget the pass," said Farmington coach Chris MacAuley, who credited top-seeded Mountain Ridge's early momentum. "Thankfully, that helped us come back in this game."
It started with another MacAuley.
Alexandra MacAuley scored her second goal during a 3-0 spurt to start the fourth quarter as the Phoenix turned a 6-5 deficit into an 8-6 advantage with 8:49 left to play.
"We just knew we had to win the draw, to get going," Carter said. "It worked out; we hyped ourselves up, and we just kept going.
"And they were a man-down for a long time, which really helped."
Taya Chalk pulled one back for the Sentinels two minutes later, and Cannon scored her third goal of the match with 5:28 to go to equalize at 8-apiece.
That set up a final four-minute sprint, where Mountain Ridge tied the game at 9-all when Chalk stripped the goalie and found Layla Holmstead to equalize with 3:11 to go.
But MacAuley found Carter with 90 seconds remaining, and the two seniors combined to help the Phoenix hand Mountain Ridge a loss by the exact same score by which the Sentinels beat Farmington back on March 18 in the third game of the season.
"We wanted that so bad," MacAuley said. "This was our year; we're taking it. This was our time to shine."
