It is already two weeks into the high school soccer season and teams are beginning to find their form. Players are finding their positions, and stars are emerging. The top contenders are beginning to assert their superiority, and some early surprises are making their presence felt. With some region schedules underway, here are some things to expect.
5A: Could this possibly be the year the 5A jinx is broken? Since the inception of the classification in 1993, no team has repeated as state champion. Alta is the defending champion and top-ranked team, but it has history working against it.
"We are not really thinking about that at all," said senior Sumer Tillotson about the curse. "What happened last year doesn't really have any impact on what we are doing this year. If we play our best soccer this year, we have the players that can win it all."
The Hawks do return a talented nucleus from last season's undefeated and No. 2-ranked team in the country. Kealia Ohai burst upon the scene last year as a freshman scoring sensation and is trying to avoid a sophomore slump. She is joined up top by junior Ashley Jones.
"People all know about Kealia," said Hawks coach Lee Mitchell. "But watch for A.J. she is going to surprise a lot of people."
Other contributors returning include: Julia Flores, Lauren Minnick, Natalie Norris, Natalie Cude, Candace Chang, Tillotson, Shanna Ipson and Nicole Slater.
Soccer fans should circle the dates of Sept. 25 and 27. That's because those are the days second-ranked Brighton meets No. 1 Alta in back-to-back Region 2 games. The Bengals are poised to contend as they have 11 seniors on their roster, nine of whom are starters.
"This class has been playing and contributing for four years now," said coach Amber Johnson. "Most of these girls will be playing college soccer somewhere, so we expect big things out of them."
McKinzie Olson is an all-state goalkeeper and former Deseret Morning News MVP. Other players for the Bengals to keep an eye on are Myriah Stockman, Megan Rhoads, Ashley Askwig, Stephanie Scott, Jaime Nelson and Jessica Ringwood.
Other contenders to watch throughout the season include Davis, Riverton, Lone Peak, Timpanogos and Viewmont.
4A: It is a different Bountiful team this year. It all started toward the end of last season when the Braves began scoring in bunches and cruised to the 4A title. Defense was always the calling card of this team, but with the offensive firepower available, it appears the focus has shifted.
"We have some good players coming back," said coach Dave Wigham before the season began. "If we can get them all in shape and on the same page, we are going to be pretty competitive again."
Chelsea Forbes, Monica Okapal, Rachel Messick, Ashlyn Hewlett, Sally Leloudis, Krista Kowalchik and Ari Wood have all been finding the back of the net as the Braves have averaged nearly seven goals per game to begin the year. The competition will be getting tougher with the beginning of Region 5 play, the toughest and most balanced of all 4A regions.
Orem had a double-overtime, heartbreaking loss last year in the quarterfinals to finish with a 16-1-1 record on the season. The good news for the Tigers is that they return six, four-year starters from that team and five others that have plenty of varsity experience.
"If we remain healthy, we are excited about our chances," said coach Ed Louder.
Scoring goals against the Tigers will be tough with goalie Aly Tucker and defender Brianne Larsen. While opponents will find it hard to score, the forward tandem of Jaime Lyons and Anne Shallenberger should hit the back of the net plenty to give the Tigers another Region 7 crown.
A few other teams to keep an eye on are Mountain View, Box Elder, Sky View, Bonneville, Murray, Olympus and a surprise team early, Highland.
3A: Waterford is back where it belongs. The Ravens felt they never should have been dropped in classification for soccer, and they proved they were probably right as they easily won the first 2A state title last season. The enrollment numbers say the school should be in the smaller-school category, but on the field, there is no doubt where it belongs.
"We know we can play with the big schools, and that is where we want to be," said Lanie Ward. "We would much rather be in 3A and maybe not in a state title than play in 2A and know we are going to win it."
The team returns much of the talent from last season's champs. Katie Crosland, Ward, Mika and Kimi Miyashima, Elise Peterson and Maddi Silva, just to name a few. While they must replace MVP Nicole Taylor, who is now at Penn State, it appears this is a group ready to challenge for the 3A title.
Other teams that have a good chance to hoist the trophy at the end of the year include: Wasatch, Park City, Juan Diego, Judge and maybe a dark horse like Ben Lomond or Morgan.
2A: With several new schools beginning soccer for the first year, uncertainty rules the classification.
"This is our first sanctioned season of soccer. Our team looks pretty tough, but we really don't know what to expect from the other teams from our region," said new Manti coach Eleshia Steinfeldt.
It is a sentiment heard from many of the coaches in the classification. Some teams that may seem to have an advantage are those that have been playing soccer for a while. Rowland Hall made it to the championship game last year and actually gave Waterford its best challenge, and St. Joseph returns quite a few players from last season's semifinalists. Millard should be tough again with some talent returning.
What makes the 2007 season so exciting is unlike last season where Waterford was so heavily favored, no one is sure which team will be raising the trophy at the end of the year.
E-mail: mblack@desnews.com