Liz Bogus had a homecoming of sorts last weekend.
The talented soccer player, who starred at Brighton High before moving onto Arizona State, returned home to play soccer for one of the first times since her high school career ended.
Bogus, 22, came to play in the Women's Premier Soccer League Final Four, held at Juan Diego Catholic High, with Ajax America of Southern California.
"I kind of lucked out that the championship was actually in Utah," said Bogus, whose squad took third.
It's been a whirlwind ride for Bogus since she graduated from Brighton in 2002. She concluded a highly successful collegiate career at Arizona State last fall and will graduate from there shortly. During that time, she received a pair of prestigious call-ups with the U-21 U.S. National Team.
In the process, the forward joined a highly exclusive list of Utahns who have played on a youth national team.
Her first call-up with the U-21s came during her freshman year at Arizona State. When her coach called to break the news, Bogus didn't believe it initially.
"My college coach called me and told me that they were calling me up," said Bogus. "I couldn't believe it. I thought he was kidding at first."
He wasn't. After a brief stint with the U-21s, Bogus didn't receive another call-up until last spring. That time, she traveled overseas with the youth national team to England and the Netherlands.
"It was awesome to play with that team and see the world at the same time," she said.
Now that her collegiate career has ended, her future with soccer remains in limbo.
The United States hasn't had a full-professional women's soccer league since the W-USA folded back in 2003. Like many others, Bogus hopes that the W-USA — or some other professional league — will return. In the meantime, she'll continue to stay in shape and ready.
"I hope that W-USA, the professional league, will come back," she said. "And, if it does, I hope I can stay fit and continue to improve and maybe have a chance at that."
That's partly how she ended up playing in the WPSL. She thought she would be moving out to California for an internship. It didn't pan out, but she wound up staying in California over the summer, which led to a spot on Ajax's roster.
Her career away from soccer hasn't been decided yet, either. She'll graduate from Arizona State with a degree in communications and will be doing an internship with a marketing agency this fall. Whether she pursues marketing — or something totally different — remains to be seen.
"I kind of want to test the waters out," she said.
E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com