SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Best 3A soccer player

Who do yall think is the best 3A girls soccer player? In my opinion Ellison Sharpe is the best player.

Riverside's:

Austin Fagan and Sarah Jacobs should be considered.

I can certainly agree with Ellison Sharpe, even though she clearly should be playing 4-A at Lexington given the contract she signed in blood and later reneged upon...I guess I get my soul back that I gave in exchange for her coming to Lexington! [Note: It makes me long for the old definition of an "honest politician" -- one who when bribed, stays bribed. Second note: To those confused out there, I'm still just kidding...]

I wouldn't limit myself at Riverside to only the forwards -- while Sarah Jacobs and Austin Fagan are really good players I think you'd also want to call out Sarah Delap (one of the true offensive threats at keeper around given the incredible lengths of her punts), and Renee Ballew (signed with PC).

Over at Eastside Emily Davis (signed with PC), Kim Ruck, and Brentley Roberts have all stood out when I've seen them play.

Stephanie Aaron at Daniel (signed with Appalachian State) is a really good player as are the Blackwell sisters at Traveler's Rest (Maggie (signed with USC) and Alice).

I've been impressed with both Oleva Durant and Layla Neal at Chapin; both are excellent players.

I'm not as familiar with the lower state 3-A side of things...

[Note: If I've left your favorite player off the list, please add her -- this was just off the top of my head.)

Im not saying she is the best by far. But a good player this year in 3A is Satoya Murray from Marlboro County. She has scored 35 goals in just 12 games.

futbolpk10,

I am sure that Satoya is an excellent player, BUT, when her coach allows her to score 9 goals in a 12-0 game against an inferior opponent, it is easy to build up stats. MC is to be congratulated on their success this season, but you have to admit, their region is very weak.

Yeah i agree the region is weak, but no one said anything about the guy from Lakewood that scored 9 vs. Lake City last yr. Eveyone claimed he was best forward in the state. Im just saying she is having a good yr. Take away those 9 and she still has 26 vs. other teams. Not to mention MC has been pounded in yrs past, so since they have the ability to score some goals they deserve to this year.

>>[24/7 Soccer] BUT, when her coach allows her to score 9 goals in a 12-0 game against an inferior opponent, it is easy to build up stats.<<

It's a pretty steep slippery slope, isn't it? The trouble is that if you want to claim that it's "easy to build up stats" then you have to begin taking a lot of factors into consideration: region strength, other players, coaching style, position, etc.

I've seen quite a few a high scoring high school player who couldn't score a goal in RIIIPL-East -- heck, that couldn't make a South Carolina team that competed in RIIIPL-East. I've seen players that didn't score thousands of points in high school look outstanding in higher level play. And of course I've seen players that do well at both. The trouble is that trying to predict how good a player is based on high school can be tough; correlations are difficult.

Arguably one of the better forwards to come out of South Carolina high school soccer in the last few years was Julie Bolt. You could look at her play in high school and tell she was going to do well in college; however, if I remember correctly there were lots of kids scoring more than her. The reason you could tell she was going to be outstanding was that she was more than a finisher; her ability to create was outstanding as was her field vision and ability to connect with open teammates. Now...given her speed, her coach could have played a "boot the ball to Bolt" offense -- and she'd have had a lot more goals -- but I don't think her team would have had the records and state championships it did.

I love statistics; however, quite often people try to use them as a substitute for logic rather than as a foundation on which to build debate and dialogue. It became really clear to me a few years ago that it's a lot safer to simply celebrate these accomplishments without trying to understand the factors that lead to them. High school soccer is what it is; if you honestly want to begin understanding how good a player is you quite often need to penetrate more deeply.

Chico—You (and I, now) may catch grief for this, but you make a needed commentary here.

I tire of many many fans/parents/coaches claiming this or that player as "great" based on a few moments in high school—a setting that can be very deceiving because of the great disparity in talent and experience. (This is true in all HS sports—not just soccer—but I think it is pronounced in soccer because of the high profile of club soccer.)

Many fine players from the Challenge and Classic levels in club look extremely good in some high school settings but have not made premier teams. In other words, talent is relative.

And some of our best premier players look average when playing matches at the Regional and National levels against teams from TX, IL, etc.

I usually keep most of my choices for "best" to myself, but I tend to make such decisions based on seeing the player in a variety of settings. Not just "scoring goals in high school"—though that feat should not be undervalued.

Overall, I think it best to note that we have a large number of very talented and dedicated young women soccer players in the state and it is a wonderful development over the past decade to have watched that grow.

There are so many factors that go into making a player "look good" according to the stats...as Chico points out, one of the greatest attributes of a soccer player is the ability to connect with teammates to create opportunities. There is often very little that can be consistently accomplished on the soccer field by an individual acting alone; it requires a team working together to produce opportunities. Someone with the potential to be an awesome forward may have poor stats because she doesn't have the cooperation of her teammates to create scoring opportunities; someone of more average talent may have more goals on record due to great teamwork. Someone who is the only talented scorer on a team would probably have better stats than the same person who shares the stage with other players of similar ability, and a selfish player (who, as we have said, is probably not the best asset to her team) might have better stats than someone who shares the ball and creates a better overall performance for her team. A goalkeeper who plays behind a faltering defense may rack up an impressive record for saves, while one who plays behind a solid team may get shutouts without ever having to touch the ball and would have very few saves on record.

Stats are great as a part of the picture, but there are so many other factors that go into their creation in a team sport; it's impossible to determine an individual player's worth by looking at statistics alone. As P&Y says, you have to be able to see that player in a variety of different settings to determine her overall capability as an individual, not just as a product of circumstances.

FBPK10,

First let me reiterate, MC has had a great year, I am not taking anything away from that, they are to be congratulated. Satoya is surely and exciting player, but compared to the other ladies on the "stats sheet", MC compition level in no where near the other players. Nothing that Satoya can do about that except play the game.


Chico/PY/Chass

You guys make great points. I don't understand the "slippery slope" statement. I just think it is wrong to allow one player to continuously score goals against an inferior team, that's all. As a coach, when you are playing that type of game, you can control who scores and how much they score, therfore, stats can be "built up".

Bottom line, it is difficult to pick the best player. Sometimes this person has few goals and few assist, yet are the team leader and the best player on the field. I guess it depends on the wants of the coach, and what type player his team needs.