High school girls soccer: Alta's Kealia Ohai is Ms. Soccer 2009

Finding another player who can match what Kealia Ohai has accomplished during her high school soccer career is next to impossible.

In four seasons, Ohai helped transform Alta from a really good team into a 5A dynasty. She was a driving force for success on four consecutive state title-winning teams. Ohai tortured one defense after another with her ability to score goals in bunches — finishing with an amazing career tally of 126 goals.

It isn't enough to simply label the senior forward as an MVP within her team, region or classification. No player statewide made an impact on a soccer field quite like Ohai did this season

and, for that reason, no other player is better suited to be recognized as Ms. Soccer by the Deseret News for the 2009 season.

"She's the type of player that a coach gets maybe once in their lifetime," Alta coach Lee Mitchell said.

From one season to the next, Ohai always found a way to live up to the mountain of expectations and hype that followed her.

She burst onto the scene as a freshman for the Hawks in 2006 just as her older sister Megan was finishing up her senior season with Alta. Ohai's debut season saw her outscore her own sister to lead the Hawks with 28 goals — the most of any 5A player that fall. From that point forward, Ohai led 5A or the entire state in scoring each season.

Her talent put Ohai in places many soccer players could only dream about. She became a fixture on the U.S. national team during her high school years, going to exotic locales dotting the globe while playing for the U-16 and U-17 teams.

Some of the soccer moments she treasures most, however, are the ones Ohai experienced in high school competition with Alta. She enjoyed the feeling of playing with girls who attended school with her and who had built friendships with her.

Ohai believes her teammates played a significant role in helping her to channel and hone her soccer skills within a team framework.

"On the field, I've grown a lot," Ohai said. "I'm stronger, bigger, more fit. But the most important thing I've learned and taken out of this is how to be a part of a team ... I love them like my family and I think that's the most awesome part about it."

Getting the chance to be a senior and serve as a mentor and leader to younger players on the Hawks' roster provided an extra thrill for Ohai this fall. Games and team functions took on greater significance as the season wound down — culminating in the trek to Rio Tinto Stadium to play in the 5A championship game.

The electricity of being in a pro soccer stadium was compounded by the emotions that came with Ohai realizing this would be her curtain call in an Alta soccer uniform. Seeing the Hawks come out with a dramatic victory one last time only added to the evening for her.