Hawks superstar commits to UNC

One of Kealia Ohai's goals in her soccer career is to have an opportunity to win a national championship at the collegiate level like her older sister Megan did at USC.

Ohai will get an excellent chance to make good on her goal after committing to play for one of the nation's premier soccer programs.

The Alta junior has verbally committed to play for North Carolina starting in 2010. Ohai chose the Tar Heels over a list of suitors including other soccer powers such as USC, UCLA and the University of Portland.

In Ohai, the Tar Heels get a player possessing extensive national team experience who has been rated as the No. 1 prospect nationally in the 2010 recruiting class by several recruiting services.

Hawks coach Lee Mitchell thinks North Carolina will be a good fit for Ohai.

"She'll be in her element," Mitchell said. "She'll fit in just fine with them. Those are the caliber of players that she should be playing with all the time."

Ohai has helped lead Alta to state titles during all three seasons she has played for the Hawks. She was named 5A MVP in 2007 and Ms. Soccer in 2008 by the Deseret News. She has led the state in goals scored for three straight seasons.

E-MAIL: jcoon@desnews.com