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SANDY — A local high school lacrosse player landed his moment of glory when he made a goal from 75 yards away.
Waterford School junior Jacob Mika, a defender, scooped up the ball near his own goal and then launched it to the other end — where it cleared the goalie just as the buzzer hit zero for the end of the first quarter.
“I would equate it to like a hole-in-one on a par-4 — it’s pretty rare," said Waterford School coach Dave Brattin. "I’ve only seen it twice and I’ve been around the game for quite a while. The only other one I saw was on a video from back East.”
A clip of the goal made it to No. 1 on SportCenter's top 10 plays April 11.
I would equate it to like a hole-in-one on a par-4. It's pretty rare.
–coach Dave Brattin
Waterford went on to beat Riverton 17-3 after the unusual goal April 9.
“It wasn’t really a difference maker, but it was definitely exciting and the kids had fun with it," Brattin said. "In the film you can hear the roar of everybody who was there — they were amazed that it occurred.”
He said the team is having a great season after returning to the Division I level of play for the 2014 season. The Waterford team won the Division II state championship in 2013.
Waterford was one of the first schools to have a lacrosse team in the area, Brattin said. The Utah Lacrosse Association was founded in 1994, but students at Waterford have been playing school-sponsored games of lacrosse since 1989.