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The Kickaround: Top girls not All-Stars?

07/13/2012, 12:56am CDT
By ERIC ANDERSON

At least 20 high school seniors who have committed to NCAA Division I women's programs for the fall played prep girls soccer in Wisconsin this spring.

So why aren't more of them playing in the Wisconsin Masonic All-Star Game on July 28 in Whitewater?

Based on available information, it appears that only one Division I recruit – Appleton North forward Christina Mauthe, who is headed to UW-Green Bay – is on the rosters for the match. The rosters for the boys game, which is the same day, include at least 10 Division I recruits.

I acknowledge that the timing of the game isn't the best for girls.

Players probably would like to spend that time with family and friends before they depart for college training camps in early August. The first Division I women's matches this year are Aug. 17, a week earlier than the opening men's games.

As for other possible reasons ...

  • Players might have suffered injuries preventing them from playing
  • Maybe their prep coaches didn't know about the game or didn't nominate them, for whatever reason
  • Perhaps some players were being optimistic about their club teams and hoping they would be playing in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships that weekend in South Carolina
  • It could be that players are looking for a little break from soccer after the high school season immediately followed by club matches for some teams
  • Or maybe the Masonic Soccer committee simply selected other players

I realize that it's not possible to always have all of the top players at these events – for example, former Milwaukee Marquette standout Patrick Hodan, a Notre Dame recruit and the state player of the year last fall, isn't playing in the boys game. But cases like that should be the exceptions, not the rule.

If there's going to be an All-Star Game, it needs to include more of those top-level players.

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Tag(s): The Kickaround