What makes a player valuable depends on what is needed.
No one reason or attribute makes up that most important piece of the puzzle, only that the skills brought to the table help the team. Although each of the Deseret Morning News' 2005 girls soccer MVPs played at a different position, each was the most valuable player in her respective classification.
5A: McKinzie Olson, Brighton
McKinzie Olson stopped one penalty shot. Only one out of five kicks in the state championship game shootout was actually saved by the keeper. But that one save vaulted Brighton to a state title in a 4-3 win over Lone Peak.
"Mac is amazing," said teammate Kristen Moore. "We knew she could stop anything."
Although Moore was talking about the shootout win over Lone Peak, she could have been speaking of the entire 2005 season.
Brighton was not talked about as one of the elite teams entering the 2005 campaign, and midway through the season, the Bengals were in a mix of about eight teams that had a shot at going far in the playoffs. But Olson knew it could go just a little farther. She just needed to up her game.
"If you saw McKinzie play from the beginning of the season until now, she has progressed about 100 percent," said Brighton coach Amber Johnson about her keeper in the playoffs.
Olson claimed to have a bit of an epiphany in the middle of the season while playing against Alta in what turned out to be a double-overtime win for Brighton.
"I just wasn't focusing in," said Olson. "From that point on, I just wanted to buck up and give everything I had. I needed to try as hard as I could on every play in every game."
The sophomore's presence in the net gave Brighton the necessary confidence to make its run to a title. Her 0.88 goals-against average was one of the best in the state, and the way she could stop an almost certain goal could turn the momentum at any time.
"She just would not let the ball in the net," said Johnson. "She is only a sophomore, but she played with the confidence of a senior, and that rubbed off on the whole defense."
Olson never gave up more than two goals in a single game. Her steady play allowed the defense in front of her to take those risks to cut off a through ball, or make the offensive run knowing that even with a mistake, chances were that the keeper would cover for them. It changed the team mentality and gave the Bengals the chance to win games in the playoffs and, eventually, the state championship.
4A: Jessie Baddley, Bonneville
Jessie Baddley did not win a state title — but don't blame her. The national team member was the focus of Bonneville's attack. She was looked upon to lead, score and set up her teammates. The problem was that every opponent knew that.
"Jessie plays in a league almost all by herself," said Bonneville coach Mike Hickman after a win early in the season. "She is so good, that occasionally she doesn't score and you go, 'What happened there?' You really come to expect so much of her."
Every team knew that the key to beating Bonneville was stopping Baddley. Even with that information, it did not happen very often. Double and even triple teams were common for the forward, but that did not stop her from leading the classification with 31 goals. But it was more than her goal scoring that made her so important.
"She's one of my captains as a junior, which I think speaks volumes," Hickman said during the season. "But the team really looks up to her because even though she is a star, she never tries to do too much. She plays within the system and is just as happy setting up a teammate as she is scoring."
The Lakers were ousted by Woods Cross in the semifinals. So how was Baddley more valuable than someone on the title-winning Wildcats? Woods Cross won the title with a bevy of all-state-caliber players. Take one player off the team, and the Wildcats would still have made a run at the title. Take Baddley off the Lakers, and Bonneville may have been fighting with Roy for the final playoff spot in the toughest league in the state, Region 5.
Only a junior, Baddley has one more run at a state championship. With one more year of playing at the national team level, and one more run on the club season, will anyone be able to even contain the phenom next year?
3A: Kelly Isleib, Park City
How does one improve on a state title and an MVP? Do it again.
That is exactly what Kelly Isleib and the Park City Miners did, only in an even more convincing fashion. Isleib is now a two-time MVP winner and will leave the high school ranks as one of the top players ever.
"She is a genius on the soccer field. She is just so smart," said Park City coach Chip Cook. "Her first instinct is always to make the pass, but obviously she can score."
Isleib is a playmaker that led her team in assists, but her coach wanted her to put the ball in the net more often this year. She listened to the coach's demands, netting 33 goals to lead the 3A classification and finishing second in the state. Her ability to do it all on the field brought together a team that had seven freshmen who regularly contributed.
"She can do so much on the soccer field skill-wise," said Cook. "She would do things out there that would just make me shake my head, but what was so important for us was that she could lead out on the field. She had the ability to take the game to a new level, and what was so great, was that she brought her teammates to that new level with her."
Isleib was the top recruit in the state this season, and her decision to play at the University of Utah made not only Ute coach Rich Manning happy, but local soccer fans alike. Her play has continued to improve each year not only because of her play with the Miners, but her participation on the national-team level.
"I went to the U-20 National Team Camp this past year," Isleib said. "It was pretty intimidating, but I learned that I could play with all the best players in the country. My dribbling and offense were my strengths, but I learned that I have some work to do on my defense."
Even if her defense was not her strong point, it was her all-around game that helped lead the Miners to a repeat championship.
E-mail: mblack@desnews.com