Everybody likes to put a cherry on top of their ice cream sundae, and that's what the Timpanogos girls soccer team did for prep sports fans in Utah County Friday by earning the school's first-ever championship in that sport.

The dramatic late-game victory by the Timberwolves wrapped up a superlative few days for local schools as they collected five gold trophies this week, the other four being earned at the state cross-country meet Wednesday.

Speaking of that event, the squads from the Valley were simply dominant across the board. There are only three 5A schools left in the County, but their harriers carted off three of the four available trophies for that classification.

In 4A, the home-town teams captured six of the top eight spots in the girls division and seven of the top 11 places in the boys. Even newer schools Salem Hills and Maple Mountain finished well enough to make those lists.

Incidentally, the Timpanogos girls were third and the boys second on Wednesday, so there had already been a lot of excitement for the Timberwolves in the past couple of days.

The small but very vocal group of students who came to support their soccer team at Rio Tinto Stadium last night was not only rewarded with a great contest on the pitch, but they had the opportunity to watch school history being made.

And boy, was it done in style.

As I sat in the press box high above the field in that remarkable facility, my mind wandered back to my arrival in Utah in 1986, when boys soccer was only four years old as a high school sport in this state.

It would be three more years before the girls version was sanctioned, and those early games were - well, to be blunt about it, simply awful.

The players tried hard, but the only experience most of them had was in recreation leagues, and it showed. Their mastery of fundamental soccer skills was nearly as woeful as their lack of understanding about the most basic rules of the game.

Those days are long gone, however.

Now, 21 years later, Utah's female players can compete with anybody in this region of the country, and a couple dozen of the very best earn Division I scholarships each year.

The advanced development of the sport was on full display during the title game Friday. Soccer fans of any persuasion could not help but enjoy the great exhibition put on by defending-champion Bonneville and opponent Timpanogos, a 5A semifinalist for the past two seasons.

The teams were pretty evenly matched and they played the game at a consistently high level. Both goalkeepers made some spectacular saves, and the defenders and midfielders were relentless and skilled at doing their jobs.

And the forwards? The only appropriate word for them is "Wow."

There was just a feeling the whole evening that a goal was a distinct possibility any time the ball got near the net on either end of the field.

Laker junior Jaiden Thornock was as dangerous a high-school scorer as you'll see. Fast, aggressive and with great ball-handling skills, the fact that she was held to just one goal in this intense contest is a testament to the Timberwolf defenders.

Particular praise should be given to senior Kelsee Soelberg, who had the difficult task of containing Bonneville's other scary forward, junior Allie Shaw, as well as rotating defensively to pick up Thornock or Abby Ulrich when they got close to her position.

Seniors Lauren Richardson and Sierra Johnson plus freshman Savannah Brady also worked hard to turn aside the Laker attack.

Of course, Timpanogos has its own trio of talented strikers in juniors McKenzie Adams and Marissa Nimmer and senior Angelica Dickson.

These three made run after combination run at the Laker goal, and did it with such a high level of execution that they got the opposing defenders all turned around and were able to produce the two goals their team needed together.

It was truly one of those contests where both teams played so well, it was a shame that one of them had to lose.

However, the Timberwolves showed great heart and desire in the closing minutes as they worked to try to end the game in regulation, and it paid off.

In short, this contest had everything a state title game should - two great teams, a terrific venue, amazing skills on display and a lot of excitement.

No one could have asked for anything more.

• Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com.