The jump from prep boys soccer competition to the Premier Development League is a pretty big leap, but Pleasant Grove graduate Winston Sorhaitz has made it look easy.
A consensus first team All-State player and the Herald’s Offensive Player of the Year, the 5-foot-9, 150-pound forward is making a splash for the BYU men’s soccer team even though he only finished high school a month ago.
Sorhaitz has played in half of the Cougars’ games so far but is the second-leading point scorer on the team after Bryant Pugmire, who’s played in all 12 regular-season contests.
The 18-year-old ex-Viking wasn’t even eligible to suit up for the squad’s initial five games because he hadn’t graduated yet.
BYU coach Chris Watkins said Sorhaitz first captured his attention with his performance during summer camp last year. The event includes 2,500 kids, most of them from out of state.
“He really stood out,” the coach said. “He’s a very unique player. He has so much confidence, he doesn’t care about what happened the last time, he’ll go at you again. He believes at any time, he’s going to be able to win the game.”
That confidence is backed up by a proven record of success. Sorhaitz was one of the state’s top prep goal-makers this season and has a reputation as a deadly scorer on the club circuit as well.
“He’s very fast and very creative going forward, and that makes him a threat all the time,” Watkins said. “He has to be respected because he has enough speed and enough accuracy to get the job done.”
The coach said Sorhaitz is filling a definite need for the team.
“We’re really thin at the forward position because our two other main guys just returned from missions a couple of months ago,” Watkins said.
“Winston goes out and runs hard on those young legs. He covers twice as much space as the other guys have. We knew he had come in with a great chance to play.
“As a team, we’ve struggled a bit scoring,” the coach continued. “In a couple of practices we kept track of shooting and asked our goalies who was the most dangerous.
“Two of the three said it was Winston. We were already pretty much convinced, but that sealed the deal,” Watkins added.
Sorhaitz said playing for BYU is a dream come true for him. Both parents are graduates and since he’s planning to serve an LDS mission, it’s where he wanted to be.
“Playing soccer is my passion, but it’s just part of trying to be the best I can be,” he said. “In high school I wanted to do well, but here the expectations are different in all aspects.”
As far as his sport goes, he said the biggest difference is that there isn’t much room for error.
“In high school, when I made a mistake, it was no big deal,” Sorhaitz said. “Here they expect every pass, every shot to be perfect. I get talked to a lot, but I’ve adapted.”
He has, a lot more quickly than anybody thought.
As would be anticipated, when he first arrived on campus, he worked out with the reserves and fetched water.
“I’d never been in that situation before,” the player said. “I decided that every practice, I would show that I belonged on the field.”
He went from playing a minute or two at the end of games to starting in a matter of two weeks in some pretty elite company.
The Premier Development League (PDL) is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid.
It’s currently the top level of men’s amateur competition in the United States and is considered to be the fourth tier of competition, behind Major League Soccer, the USL First Division and the USL Second Division, and roughly equal with the National Premier Soccer League and the Pacific Coast Soccer League.
The starting keeper for the Cougars this year is another local product, Cory Cosgrave, who was a member of Lone Peak’s record-breaking 2005 state champion squad and is also a team captain.
“Winston’s not going to back down from anyone,” Cosgrave said. “It’s a big change from high school to here and some of the guys on the teams we play against are quite accomplished, but he has the confidence to not only take them on but finish an attack.”
The goalie added that Sorhaitz’s enthusiasm has also been contagious.
“His excitement and aggressiveness have spread through the team,” Cosgrave said. “He brings some qualities that we’ve been lacking.”
Watkins noted that Sorhaitz is going to have to get bigger and stronger since he can get pushed off the ball at this level. His role is still somewhat limited at this point.
“All we’re really asking him to do is run behind the defense and score; that’s a relatively simple assignment ,” the coach explained. “We have other guys to take care of the rest.
“He was dying for this opportunity,” Watkins added. “He was down here the day after his high school season ended, watching practice and doing drills on his own since we only added him officially after graduation. He was well prepared when his time came.”
In the short term, Sorhaitz plans to submit his mission papers very soon and hopes to leave as soon as possible after the end of the fall semester. He expects to return to the team when his term of service is over.
“Obviously, it’s hard to predict his future,” Watkins said. “If he can add some bulk and strength with hopefully as much speed and confidence in taking on defenders and continues to work hard, playing at the next level is certainly possible for him.”
In the meantime, he’ll do everything he can to contribute for the Cougars.
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