Team concept — MVPs made their squads championship-caliber

Scoring goals, setting up teammates, keeping a defense organized or initiating the attack. All are important parts of a successful soccer team, and all were the qualities that made this year's Deseret Morning News MVPs the most important players in their respective team's title runs.

5A: Megan Ohai, Alta

Before Alta's championship game against Lone Peak, Hawks coach Lee Mitchell said he noticed something special in his star forward, senior Megan Ohai.

"I saw it in Megan's eyes," he said. "There was just no way she was going to let this chance go by. She was determined that this was going to be our championship."

After Alta fell behind by two goals early, Ohai personally brought the team back by scoring on a header and a brilliant strike from just inside the penalty area. Ohai continued the scoring exhibition in the second half with the go-ahead and insurance goals only minutes apart to cap Alta's perfect 20-0 season with a state championship.

"I don't know how to describe it," she said after the game. "This is just the best team ever to play with. My teammates set me up, and I just hit the shots where they needed to go."

It was a relationship that was mutually beneficial. Ohai received plenty of good passes from her team and scored 26 goals on the year, but she was quick to dish it out as well. Although she played forward, Ohai was used to initiate the offense, often coming back to get the ball. She excelled at collecting the ball with her back to the goal and either making a pass or turning herself. Her passing abilities resulted in 18 assists. Ohai was involved in 44 of the Hawks' classification-high 95 goals.

"We expect a lot of Megan," Mitchell said early in the year. "We expect her to score goals, but it is more than that. She is a leader and needs to do it by what she does on the field. She needs to be an example."

Ohai's enthusiasm was contagious. She was a fierce competitor, but it was hard to miss something else about her while playing — her smile.

"Playing soccer is just fun," she said. "This team is just a bunch of good friends having fun out there. Playing high school soccer is all about being with your good friends and having fun doing it. I love it."

Of course, it is a lot more fun when the team is winning. With Ohai leading the way, that's what Alta did, finishing undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the country.

4A: Christine Quinn, Bountiful

Bountiful coach Dave Wigham has said the past couple of years that if the other team doesn't score, it can't win. The Braves have used that defensive philosophy to win two of the past four state titles, and this year's defense was as good as any the previous Braves teams had.

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