http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/11429357.htmCavs boast the best thing since ... Mouton’s balanced play at forward for RNE gets attention from coaches
By JIM McLAURIN, Staff Writer (The State)
According to Richland Northeast girls’ soccer coach Bob Szadek, Alex Mouton falls somewhere in between the electric light bulb and sliced bread.
“She’s the whole package,” Szadek said. “In my opinion — and I think other coaches would agree — she’s the top player in the state this year.”
Mouton, a senior forward for the Cavaliers, pooh-poohs that notion, but her statistics belie her modesty. In the 11 games, Mouton had 19 goals and 15 assists, for 53 totals points for RNE (9-1-1).
“He’s very complimentary,” Mouton said. “It almost embarrasses me a little. He’s a great guy, but he gives me a little more credit than I deserve, I think.”
Westside High’s scoring machine, Torey Lybrand, is running away with the goal-scoring category, with 42 goals (and six assists, for 90 points).
But goal-scoring doesn’t tell the whole story for Mouton. Her goals-to-assists ratio suggests a well-rounded player. And her numbers could be much higher, Szadek said, if he didn’t pull her out once games are well in hand.
“She could score five or six goals in some games, despite being shadowed or double-teamed every game,” Szadek said. “Everybody who plays us, their objective is to stop Alex, and they haven’t done it yet.
“I don’t know that there’s anybody faster with the ball than her,” Szadek said. “Her skills are at the highest level. She’s been playing soccer since she was 4 or 5 years old, and she’s been playing above her level all along.”
In fact, playing for the last two summers in the Carolina Elite league in Greenville, Mouton has played a year ahead of her age group and has been a part of two state championships. Last year, the under-18 team finished second in the Southern region to a team from Dallas, and fifth nationally.
According to her Greenville coach, Andrew Hyslop, the key point to how good she is — and can become — is how she has elevated her game as the level of the competition has risen.
“As with all players coming into a new program, it took her a little while to get settled in, but she has tended to score goals in big games against the best opposition,” Hyslop said. “That’s one primary reason that the University of South Carolina was attracted to her: Not only is she a high-level local product, but one who’s proven herself against the best teams in the country.”
And, Hyslop added, Mouton is not one-dimensional. “She’s dangerous because she has the speed and athleticism to run at defenders, get them off balance and create scoring chances for herself and other players,” he said.
USC coach Shelly Smith must agree, because she signed Mouton to a scholarship in February.
“For her to be consistent with her performances is the key,” Smith said. “On the next level, she’s going to be facing good competition day in and day out, and hopefully she’ll take that and run with it.”
