Net worth: MVP's left mark on soccer field

Each 2006 Deseret Morning News boys soccer MVP was a superb athlete.

Two of the players earned first-team All-State accolades in other sports before the soccer season, while the other decided to focus solely on the sport he grew up playing.

Athletic talent alone didn't turn the trio into MVPs, however. Rather, the thing that made them irreplaceable on the field was their ability to channel that talent into the game of soccer.

One became the anchor of the state's most lethal offensive attack. Another became an unselfish forward who could still score himself, when necessary. The other became a steady defender who captained his side to a state championship.

Over the course of the season, Alta's Blake Tillotson, East's Jake Cook and Park City's Austin Blais each demonstrated their immense worth to their respective teams and have been chosen as this year's MVPs.

BLAKE TILLOTSON, Alta

In what turned out to be the first of three meetings between Alta and Brighton, which were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 all year long, Tillotson played majestically in midfield to lead his squad to a thrilling 3-2 win.

It's hard to overstate his play that day. He dominated midfield while leading his squad's offensive attack. He won numerous balls defensively and scored twice going the other way.

Tillotson didn't look back after that. He turned in a host of solid performances and led the Hawks to their first state title since 1997.

"From that point," Alta coach Lee Mitchell said of the first Brighton game, "he started to dominate things . . . That game helped him realize he could be dominant out there."

Tillotson turned into the state's premier box-to-box midfielder. He scored 11 goals and had six assists offensively, which made many people forget all the defensive work he did.

"When we needed him to, he played some awesome defense," Mitchell said.

He was a great leader, too. Tillotson didn't lead the Hawks by getting in the faces of players or by being loud. Rather, he just went and gave everything he had.

"I think his leadership role was the way he played," Mitchell said. "He went out and played 80 minutes for us."