This Is the Los Angeles Sol: Liz Bogus

Part 19 in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2009 Los Angeles Sol.

There's nothing bogus about midfielder Liz Bogus.

Seriously. There isn't.

But there's something great about Liz Bogus that isn't too bogus to comprehend.

She brings a championship mentality from her former club, Pali Blues. Acquired from FC Gold Pride, Bogus has succeeded in helping the Los Angeles Sol win the regular season championship this season.

Need we say more? All right, how about a little history on how she got here.

Elizabeth Ely Bogus was born on February 22, 1984 in Provo, Utah. Provo, as you may know, is the home of Brigham Young University. Also known as P-town, this proud city of 117,592 is a key operation center for software corporation giant Novell.

Notable residents of Provo include legendary BYU football coach LaVell Edwards (for which the football stadium is named after), the Osmond Family, and Stephen R. Covey, known for his piece, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."

You can say that as a midfielder, Bogus has been nothing short of effective. Her father Thomas played for the BYU mens soccer team, and it's from his father that Bogus began her career plying her trade with the round ball.

As a member of Cottonwood Heights' Brighton High School Tigers, Bogus was a Utah ODP team member all four years, as well as a Region IV ODP in 2001 and 2002.

A dominant presence on the girls soccer team, Bogus set state records with 79 career goals and 27 assists. She earned three straight all-state first team selections and a second team selection her freshman year. Bogus competed for the Firebirds Soccer Club.

As a student athlete, there isn't anything bogus about Liz, either.

Voted as the student body vice president at Brighton her last two years, she earned the President's Award for academic excellence in 1998 to go with completion of a number of service projects and Habitat for Humanity volunteer work.

Bogus, however, chose to sign with the Arizona State Sun Devils in 2002. The payoff came in droves. In her first year, Bogus earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors, as well as Soccer Buzz Freshman All-American second team and Freshman All-West first team honors.

Bogus completed her 2002 campaign finishing first in the Pac-10 in game-winning goals (7), third in shots (62) and goals (10), and sixth in points (22).

In her sophomore season, Bogus was named to the Academic All-Pac-10 second team while earning All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention honors. She was also named a Maroon & Gold Scholar-Athlete.

In her junior year, Bogus was named to the All-Pac-10 second team, the Pac-10 All-Academic second team, and the Academic All-District VIII second team. Once again, Bogus was named a Maroon & Gold Scholar-Athlete.

In her final season, Bogus finished her career with 20 game-winning goals (a school record), 47 goals scored, 18 assists, and 80 points. She was named to Academic All-Pac-10 second team, All-Pac-10 first team, and Soccer Buzz All-West Region Second Team.

Before she played with the WPS's Los Angeles Sol, Bogus already built a curriculum vitae playing in the WPSL and W-League.

In 2004, she helped lead the Chicago Cobras to the semifinals. In 2006, Bogus earned All-WPSL First Team and All-Final Four Tournament honors as a member of Ajax America. And in 2008, she was part of the W-League champion Pali Blues.

Bogus was originally drafted by FC Gold Pride before she was acquired as a preseason signing off Waivers by the Sol in 2009. While she has seen limited time, Bogus played six matches while scoring twice this season.

You can expect more contributions from the likes of No. 17 down the road. And there isn't anything bogus about that fact.

But once again, is there really anything bogus about Liz Bogus nowadays? We thought just as much.

Thanks to Brooke Adams of Bleacher Report for correcting the birth date of this player. The original information was taken from the Los Angeles Sol's official web site.