High school soccer: MVPs excelled when it mattered most

When the spotlight was at its brightest, the 2011 Deseret News boys soccer MVPs were at their best.

All four had great regular seasons, but they were at their best in the finals, each leading their team to the coveted state championship.

For that reason, Chris Lowrimore of Alta, Jaycson Yeates of Mountain Crest, Alex Espinoza of Wasatch and David Beesley of Waterford have been named the Deseret News MVPs for their respective classifications for the 2011 season.

5A MVP

Chris Lowrimore, Alta

As long as Lee Mitchell has been the head coach at Alta — which goes back 20-plus years — all Alta goalkeepers have been measured up to John Ragsdale.

The four-year starter was named the state MVP in 1990 and he's long been regarded as the best goalie in school history.

He now has company.

Following a season in which the athletic Lowrimore finished with 10 shutouts and led Alta to the state championship, Mitchell said he believes Lowrimore is every bit as good as Ragsdale was.

"That's as big a compliment as I can give 'cause John's as good as anybody this state has produced," said Mitchell.

Ragsdale, who's the goalie coach at Alta, played professional and semi-pro soccer with five different teams after high school. Lowrimore will begin the next phase of his career at Gonzaga University, a great starting point for what could be a very bright future.

Mitchell said that Lowrimore was every bit as important to Alta's state title as Mr. Soccer recipient Derek Boggs.

"He's a great leader," Mitchell said. "Derek was our engine; Chris is our heart. The team played with those two and they're the ones who carried us all year long," said Mitchell.

Lowrimore finished with a 0.60 goals-against average and was instrumental in organizing the back line all year.

"A good goalkeeper is going to instill confidence in their players, and Chris did that, so the players in front of him always played better," said Mitchell. "He was vocal and he would get the defense to do what he needed them to do."

4A MVP

Jaycson Yeates, Mountain Crest

Few players commanded the midfield quite like this Mountain Crest senior.

Heading into the 4A championship game against Mountain View, coach Mike Gurney had every reason to be concerned going up against the Bruins' five-man midfield. He toyed with the idea of tweaking his formation to compensate for the man disadvantage, but in the end he put his faith in defensive midfielder Jaycson Yeates.

Just like he did all year, Yeates rewarded his coach.

Yeates cleaned things up in the middle all night long, then scored a pair of goals with his head to lead the Mustangs to their first boys state soccer championship in school history.

"He was such a smart player for us. Everything ran through him. It's kind of deceiving that he's even out there sometimes, but he does everything so effectively and he makes great decisions," said Gurney. "You never have to worry about if things are going to go wrong with him in there."

Despite playing defensive midfield, Yeates was one of 4A's leading goal scorers with 16. Gurney said at least seven or eight of them were with his head — including his golden goal in overtime of the state championship game — as he was virtually impossible to mark.