The Timpanogos High School girls’ soccer team battled past Skyline and went on to win its second 4A state title in two years last Friday. That very same day, Davis High School girls’ soccer team topped Lone Peak to win the 5A state championship game.
While only two teams could come out of the weekend as state champions, all four teams had one thing in common: coaching connections to BYU.
Team coaches Megan Fereday, Heather Dahl, Cloee Colohan, Colette Smith and Erica Owens are all former BYU soccer players who have taken their talents from the field to the sidelines. Fereday and Dahl serve as head coaches for Timpanogos and Lone Peak, respectively. Colohan and Smith are both assistants for Davis High, while Owens serves as an assistant at Skyline.
All of the coaches remember the great experiences they had while playing for coach Jennifer Rockwood at BYU. Fereday most remembers the experience for the privilege it was.
“What I remember most about my experience as a BYU soccer player is the great honor and responsibility it was to represent something greater than myself, ” Fereday said. “Remembering that I was not just representing the BYU soccer team, but also my school, the Church and my family is a lesson that I will never forget.”
Memories for Colohan, Smith and Owens, who are all freshly removed from the program, include playing in the Elite eight of the NCAA tournament in 2012.
“It was a really cool experience to play the Elite eight game at our home field with our fans supporting us, ” Colohan said. “Even though we lost it was still an experience of a lifetime, and I will never forget it.”
Owens also marked that game, along with Cougar fans, as one of the best memories on her list.
“We were extremely fortunate to have large numbers of dedicated and energetic fans at every game, ” Owens said. “It made for some really special nights that I will never forget.”
For Dahl, who has been coaching for many years, the story is a little bit different. She started playing the game at a young age and found it was her passion from the start. She discovered a desire to help teach others the game as she grew and eventually agreed to help her younger sister’s team while she was still attending high school.
