High school girls soccer: Alta's Ohai impressed with Euro soccer trip

Going to Spain was an eye-opening experience for Kealia Ohai.

The Alta junior has had plenty of exposure to good soccer through her stints at the club level with the Utah Avalanche, at the high school level with Alta and with the Olympic Development Program. But seeing the game she loves expertly played in an international setting made everything that came before seem like a rec-league pick-up game.

"It was definitely a shock for me how good every country is and just, individually, how good the players were," Ohai said.

It is not a shock to see Ohai is a part of it. She has already cemented her status as one of the most talented soccer players to ever come out of Utah. Now Ohai is doing her part to contribute to a team hoping to make a splash on the world stage.

Ohai spent a week in La Manga, Spain, playing with the U.S. U-20 women's national team in the 10 Nations Tournament.

The American team faced teams from Norway, France and Germany in the tournament — which served as the first in a series of tournaments and camps leading up to the FIFA U-20 World Cup next year in Germany. The U.S. team posted a 1-1-1 record, beating Norway 3-2 in the opener, tying France 1-1 and losing 2-0 to Germany.

Ohai was a key reserve for the U.S. team in all three matches.

Playing an important role was a not a simple task, given the eight-hour time change from Utah and so many different nuances — ranging from substitution rules to game management — in international competition.

For Ohai, the experience she gained playing in those matches feels invaluable in helping her hone her natural soccer abilities enough to reach her ultimate goal of taking part in World Cup competition.

"It's good to be able to play at an international level, and it's just completely different from everything else," Ohai said. "It's completely different from club or high school soccer."

If she is selected to be part of next year's U-20 team that goes to Germany, it will be the cherry on top in a list of achievements by Ohai that many of her peers can only dream about.

Besides her current stint with the national team, Ohai is the first player from Utah to verbally commit to perennial NCAA soccer power North Carolina. A strong winning tradition encompassing the Tar Heel program — which includes 20 national championships — felt like a perfect fit for her.