Singular accomplishments and talents are often the result of extraordinary environments and work regimens, all of which have benefited our 2025 All-Valley Boys Soccer MVP Lewis Knecht considerably. For as long as Knecht can remember, soccer was a main focus in his life, forgoing all other sports in order to pursue the game he loved and eventually arriving as one of the most dominant players ever to take the pitch from the Utah high school ranks.

Knecht finished his high school career leading his American Fork to two straight 6A state championships with superior play seldom seen at the high school level.

“I’ve coached a lot of great players, but it’s hard to argue that he isn’t as good as any of the top players we’ve had here at American Fork,” said Caveman Coach Casey Waldron. “His speed and ability to get shots off in tight windows is what separates him, along with his ability to dribble in tight spaces. He’s been an amazing player and leader for us.”

Knecht finished out his senior season with 24 goals scored and 12 assists while receiving as much defensive attention as anyone in the state. He’ll continue his soccer prowess at Utah Valley University, where he’ll join with his older brother, Owen Knecht in taking the pitch for the Wolverines.

It won’t mark the first time Lewis has played with Owen, or any of his three older brothers, for that matter.

For the Knecht brothers, soccer was taken very seriously from a very young age. Lewis fondly recalls early-morning soccer sessions administered by his father, Peter that very much took the form of a training camp.

“My dad used to wake us all up really early in the summer and we’d do thousands and thousands of touches,” Lewis related. “My dad never played soccer, but he saw the potential in me and my brothers, and that’s how it was ever since I was three or four years old.”

With Lewis being the youngest of the four, it’s reasonable to assume his three older siblings, Owen, Reed and Andrew, would go lighter on him during inter-family soccer drills.

“Oh, never,” Lewis responded at the suggestion. “They made me earn everything for as long as I can remember. It didn’t matter if they were three years older or seven years older. That’s how it was.”

And Lewis loved every second of all of it.

“I honestly can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t excited to play soccer,” he said. “I loved the game immediately and I’ve never really had a desire to play any other sport.”

Lewis eventually experienced a growth spurt around the sixth and seventh grade which enabled him to legitimately compete with his older brothers.

He eventually attended American Heritage Academy, where he starred for the soccer team there before opting to transfer to American Fork in hopes of further developing his game against 6A competition.

The adjustment from 2A level to 6A wasn’t all that arduous, according to Waldron, with Lewis leading the Cavemen in scoring as a sophomore. Many sophomores took lead roles with Lewis during that first season at American Fork, with all coalescing together to win consecutive state championships.

“I was excited to play for that great program,” Lewis said. “I knew the coaching staff and the players I was joining to play with was the biggest attraction. I knew we were going to do some special things, and we did.”

Earning those consecutive championships didn’t come easy, however.

Following Lewis’s standout junior season, opposing teams responded by applying tremendous physical play in hopes of throwing him off his game throughout this past year.

“He’s had a target on his back,” Waldron said. “That’s how it is in sports. If you’re the best, and opposing teams know you’re the best, they’re coming after you. It’s been tough, but he’s dealt with it, and I think he even thrives on being the focus of not only opposing teams, but opposing fans.”

The state playoffs ushered in perhaps the biggest physical challenges Lewis has faced in his career. In the Caveman’s 2-1 semifinal win over Skyridge, he was dealt many blows, often leaving him on the ground with more than several words exchanged throughout.

After the win, however, as his team celebrated its return to the state championship match, Lewis was seen taking time to console several of the Falcon players who had dealt with him so brutally throughout the match.

“I’ve been where they were, and it’s really, really hard,” Lewis said. “Those players are just doing what their coaches are coaching them to do, and it’s all part of the game. After the game it’s over and I have a lot of respect for a lot of players on that team and knew how tough that moment was for them.”

In the championship game against Bingham, the opposition didn’t just come in the form of physical play, but from the Miner home crowd. All 80 minutes of play saw the Bingham section ride Lewis with chants and hisses, all of which seemed to drive him.

“I loved that stuff,” Lewis said. “When players and fans start to chirp, it’s a bad move because it just motivates me to be better. I welcome all of it.”

As mentioned, Lewis will be welcomed into UVU’s soccer program where he hopes to forge the immediate success he experienced at American Fork.

“My goal is to play professionally, and I’m just so thankful for everyone that has helped me and continues to help me with that goal,” Lewis concluded. “Everyone from my parents, my brothers, my coaches have blessed me so much in my career. I’ve loved all of my teammates I’ve had the opportunity to play with. Every single one of them has made me a better player. I couldn’t be more grateful for all of them.”