Before the state tournament began, Timpanogos coach Natalyn Lewis wanted the Timberwolves to stop talking about soccer. She told them to stop reading the paper and avoid looking at the playoff brackets. She insisted that they forget about the regular season. All the Timberwolves were to do was to get on the bus, suit up and play.

"I told them we had four games to win state. That's it. Four games. And it starts with one," said Lewis. "All we had to do was win that game, and then I'd tell them where to show up next. I think it really helped us stay focused."

According to Lewis, the details would only bog down what she had always believed was a team with enough talent to cruise to a state championship. She was right.

It's that intuition, leadership and trust in her players that makes Lewis the girls' soccer coach of the year.

But according to Lewis, she didn't have to do much to convince the Timberwolves that this was their year.

"I let them know that if they wanted it, it was theirs for the taking, but the rest was up to them," said Lewis. "The seniors did offseason training on their own, with no direction from me. They were in shape from day one, which allowed us to focus on strategic play rather than lose time on conditioning."

While the Timberwolves took the initiative, it was Lewis who set the bar high. Despite heading into the state tournament as a third-seed underdog, Timpanogos adjusted its game to each opponent and earned three consecutive road wins over top-ranked opponents to reach the state title game. Once there, the Timberwolves defied the odds again as McKenzie Adams netted two goals, including the game-winner with 30 seconds left in regulation, to dethrone defending state champion Bonneville.

"The fun part about coaching is just opening their eyes to possibility," said Lewis. "Then, you just sit back and watch what they can do on their own. They earned this title all on their own."