HERRIMAN — Patrick Stevenson scored his second goal of the 6A championship match in the 74th minute to give top-seeded Lone Peak a 2-1 lead over Farmington and a shot at the Knights' first state title in21 years.
But the Knights didn't just want a championship.
Stevenson scored three goals as Lone Peak clinched its first title since 2005 with a 3-1 win over the Phoenix on Friday afternoon at Zions Bank Stadium.
A "Pat Trick" in the state final of your senior year? Does it get any better?
"It's nothing I could've imagined," Stevenson admitted. "On my way to the bus, I'm just visualizing myself scoring that hat trick — so it became a reality."
Stevenson has led the Knights (18-1) for most of his senior year, with 10 goals and seven assists to lead all scorers in the final campaign of his 38-goal high school career.
But the former Utah Valley commit who plans to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Argentina put in what may be the finest performance of his career, and his first hat trick of the season to run to another level.
It's about time, noted Lone Peak first-year head coach Kyle Hartman.
"Patrick is one of the most humble soccer players I've ever met with his skill level," Hartman said. "He's all about the team, not about himself. He'd rather have three other guys score than himself. But I told him before this game that he was going to have to put the team on his back.
"This was his moment," he added. "This was his chance. I said, it's OK to be a little selfish when the moment calls for it. He's a team player, but he also understood the moment and was willing to take the chances and step up.
"And he delivered a hat trick in his last game."
But it didn't start easy for the Knights.
Jack Burrup gave third-seeded Farmington (15-4) the early advantage, finishing on a counter attack to strike first in the 11th minute.
But the Phoenix's lead didn't last long.
Stevenson equalized in the 23rd minute with a short from the edge of the penalty that pulled the Knights even, 1-1 at halftime.
"They've been in tough games, one- or two-goal games, overtime games," said Hartman, whose team survived eighth-seeded Bingham via shootout in the 6A quarterfinals. "I think those experiences helped them to know that when things get tight, they don't break. They come together, they rally and they fight through it.
"They know that if they stick together, we'll have an opportunity to overcome anything thrown at us. They've done that all year long."
Stevenson notched the go-ahead goal in the 74th minute, setting off a frenzy in the corner flag as Lone Peak could sense its first championship in two decades after a series of attempts to break the championship drought.
All the Knights had to do was slow it down, finish out the game, and lift the trophy.
But Stevenson didn't just want to survive. With a chance to do something special, he went toward goal in the 78th minute and struck a shot that was saved well by the goalkeeper.
And he wasn't done.
The senior notched the critical (for him) third goal in the final minute, finding space underneath the crossbar to give Lone Peak the final margin with his hat trick.
Excuse that; a "Pat" trick.
"Everybody just has so much passion on this team," Stevenson said. "The boys love each other; we're always lifting each other up.
"We don't want to settle for ordinary," he added. "We want to be extraordinary."
