SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Player of the Year

I don't know anything about the process but when will the player of the year be announced and who are the contenders? I know it was about this time last year when Julie Bolt was recognized. My vote, if I had such a thing, would go to Danielle Schmitt of Fort Mill.

There are many brilliant female soccer players in the state. It is a shame that many of them are seen by very few fans, etc. Congrats to them all.

JL Mann's Blakely Mattern and Wando's Sarah Catenacci are two other ladies that I have seen play this year that warrant mentioning.

ive seen fm & wando play & #9 from lex is best player ive seen all year

Blakely Mattern is superior—if anyone has seen her play both high school and club, you know she is an elite player.

W&E is going to kill me for saying this, but if you have never seen Caitlin Robinson play for Hanna or her premier team, you have missed out on a treat. She scored two goals again tonight and her direct kick from outside the box for a goal was breathtaking. Just a sophomore folks.

Scored 2 goals against Wofford the other day, too.

I have to agree with purple and yellow. There are many talented female soccer players in the state. How can you judge the best by goals scored? What about the person who serves up the ball, and creates the play? What about the goalie that allows few goals? What about the defender that no one can get by? Food for thought...

ccasi jones from airport only a freshman definatly one of the best players and scorers on the team

Casi Jones?? Was she riding that train? I think she better watch her speed!

I have seen the 3 following players in High School and club. If I had a vote they would be as follows.

1: Sarah Cattenacci Wando
2: Daniele Schmidt Fort Mill
3: I can't place her name but she is the Keeper for Riverside

Ellison Sharpe of Dreher and Ashton the #21 of BC deserve a mention.

Erika Bishop #4 of Emerald is another talented player deserving a mention.

r4sc,
Lexington #9's name is Kira Campbell. A great player and I wouldn't be surprised, at all, if she is named player of the year- if not this year, the next year, or the next, since she is just a sophomore.

All-State selection commitees select a starting 11 and then 7 other members to the 18 man/woman roster based on overall ability. Perhaps a POY should be considered on those grounds, since it is understandable that stats will be more prominent for FWs than Mids, Defs, or even GKs.

Here's a list, in no order, add as many as you like. In the end, I am not sure who votes on the official POY:

Sarah Catenacci - Wando
Blakely Mattern - JL Mann
Danielle Schmidt - Ft. Mill
Carmen Osario - Dorman
Katie Horton - Irmo
Casi Jones - Airport
Caitlin Robinson - TL Hanna
Torey Lybrand - Westside
Kira Campbell - Lexington
Sarah Johanesmeyer(SP)-Summerville
Kelly Gosnell - James Island
Erica Bishop - Emerald
Hannah Gmerek - Wren

I'm sure I left out about 15 deserving players. Which of these could play anywhere: mid, def, and FW and have the most consistent impact at different positions?

Sara Delap is the Riverside keeper (MRoss), and a fine player! The problem with these recommendations and lists include we have All-State for all levels (A-AAAA) and we have stats garnered against weak teams v. stats garnered against strong teams. That's a problem. And many want to tout only the AAAA players while some of the best players are in AA (I know, and I see them weekly, but have seen very few AAAA players except with their clubs.) A POY by classification might be a solution. And do that at the All-State meetings.

Katey Gray-SCS

Just wondering but how often do keeper's get player of the year?
That is a hard position emotionally to play, you can stop 20 shots and let 1 in and you have failed even though the rest of the team was unable to finish their chances!

They are often overlooked when looking at a teams' success.

Defenders as well...

Absolutly true, that is only because the easiest way to judge a player is, how many goals they have scored. FM has possibly two of the top players in the state and one emerging star playing defense. They have proven that they are offensive threats, I believe 30 or so points between the three of them this season, but often over looked, as are many defenders.

Offence sells tickets, defense wins championships!

pupleandyellow, im sure your daughter in 2a is an ok player but your coming across as kinda rabid, im a s aiken fan but you dont see me so biased, geesh

R4SC, P&Y DAUGHTER'S IS looked at by D1 coaches weekly in club....(she is a top player in this state) with that said, he is not even talking about her. If you read he is talking in general about the upper level of 2a girls. Kids from the likes of cc, scs, woodruff, BE and Academic magnet to name a few schools with quality players.

Sorry that I have been taken as rabid or biased for my own child. I have stated on this thread Blakely Mattern and Sara Delap, by the way. Both are AAAA and not kin to me in any way. And I also have stated that A, AA, AAA deserve atention just as AAAA does, but that AAAA tends to receive most of the attention. Biased? Of course. Who isn't? The top AA teams have two and three players on each team that would be starters on any team in the state; that includes several AA teams. Those AA teams can't compete with larger schools with 8-12 players of that caliber. Just a fact. I would add, I have always made positive comments about girls soccer and girls on those soccer teams. ALL of the teams and players. I have been arguing for MORE recognition, not recognition for any one player anywhere.

Well Stated P&Y

PandY
Neither delap or mattern play for AAAA schools....both are 3A.

mistyped—sorry—yes AAA

pks are my fav:

I think GKs are viewed as either heros or zeros. Take it from a GKs dad, their life is no picnic. They can make one mistake in a game and everyone sees it vs. a field player that may make numerous mistakes in a game. GKs are under appreciated for the job they have to do when the defense tires or the team goes into defense mode. This allows a complete assalt on the GKs. The mental ability a GK has should more appreciated by all on player selection committees.

I follow the boys side more than the girls side. But from what I have seen Kira Cambell is 1 of the top players but I have not seen Blakely Mattern. As far as GK Erica Deahl is very good.

BE is NOT a AA public school; and of course BE has been competitive for a while. BE has the same number of quality players as AAAA and AAA teams. 99% of AA public schools do not have and will never have that many top level players at one time. Some AA teams do compete well with the mid-ranked AAAA and AAA teams, but depth often separates AA from larger schools. The point I was making is that the 2-3 high quality players at the AA level are often less often seen and less often noted for honors such as POY when compared to AAAA.

As a keeper i know how stressful it can be to know that the game can be decided by you. To go from no shots for half a game to having them poured in on you takes a large amount of concentration on the game adn understanding. I believe to an extent keepers, that is good keepers who have played for a while, are some or are the best athletes on the field. The wide range of demands the position presents is larger then what people think. You have to have played the position to truly get it.

Also, I do believe that defenders are also overlooked much of the time. Sometimes they are the ones that keep the GKs out of trouble.

Blakley Mattern is a great player, but i believe one that is overlooked is Renee Ballew. She plays for Riverside and is a total playmaker. She may not score the goals but she sets it up for other people. Also she can play at any position you put her! One of the most well rounded players i have ever seen play!

We will see how the two match up tonight when Riverside playes JL Mann!

Renee B is a great example! If anyone has seen Renee or Blakely play BOTH high school and club, he or she would see that they are both outstanding and pivotal players who may be easily overlooked while someone else puts in a few goals. Both played in the back in club, where their team had the lowest goals-against average in U-17 PL RIII this past fall. For high school POY how do we judge a forward who has a large number of goals v. weak teams against two or three solid defenders and keepers on high quality teams that allow very few goals? The sad answer is people remember and vote for stats.

Sorry if I offended you purple - was not my intent. Like I said, I agree with your main idea.

The wonderful keeper for Riverside is "Sarah Delap" with an "h".

No offense—I agree BE has been competitive.

what really makes a player of the year? please define the credentials? stats? college? etc.?

If you are looking for a player of the year,as a coach I look for a complete player, anyone @ this level can score if given the ball in the right place. I look fo a player who knows the whole game and could play almost anywhere. I have watched most of these players everyone is talking about. The two I would love to have on my team would be Blakley from JL Mann & Hannah from Wren. You never hear theses two players complain about scoring. They do not care about points or goals they are team players and thats what I look for as a coach

That would be Wren sophomore Hannah Gemerek (sp?). I've seen her play twice.....nice player and seems like a very nice young lady.

I've seen Blakely Mattern twice....great player.

SCS-Morgan Thomas, scored a hat trick on emerald in the SCS/Emerald playoff game!!!

Hannah can play any position on the field and play them well. We've seen her twice this year and she was the backbone of the team. POY candidate for sure.

Hannah is a great player as well as a great person- plays ODP with my daughter