Girls’ soccer All-Stars: L.B. Wilson was big winner all season

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Danielle Russell was basically a wall on defense for nationally ranked Long Beach Wilson. Amanda Lisberger, on the other hand, terrorized defenses for Division V Brentwood.

Lisberger, despite playing at a small school, is a candidate for Gatorade’s player of the year in California. The Texas-bound forward, pictured, closed out her high school career with another 20-plus goal season. She scored 88 goals and had 31 assists in four years at Brentwood.

Russell was a force on both sides of the field -- she scored 11 goals and had 11 assists -- but her forte was defense. She was one of the best in the back in Southern California. The San Diego-bound defender anchored a Wilson defense that allowed only 13 goals in 35 games.

Offensive player of the year: Amanda Lisberger, Brentwood. Remember the name, she’s the mostly likely to play in a Women’s World Cup, whether it’s for the U.S. or for the Korean Republic National team. Born in South Korea, Lisberger has been invited to be part of the nation’s player pool for the 2011 World Cup, according to the University of Texas.

Defensive player of the year: Danielle Russell, Long Beach Wilson. If not the best defender in the Southland, she’s certainly the most imposing. Tall and hard to move from her spot, Russell made life easy for her goalkeeper. She also allowed her teammates up front to roam free as they scored 110 goals.

Coach of the year: Jason Kirkwood, Long Beach Wilson-- A lot of credit for the Bruins’ season goes to Kirkwood, who guided Wilson (30-1-4) to many firsts. But no first was more impressive, nor more important, than being crowned StudentSportsSoccer.com national champions. Wilson is also in line to claim a second mythical national title as the NSCAA’s final rankings will be announced later this month.

First team:

GK- Hannah Turpen, Sr., San Clemente-- Possesses instinctive skills that can’t be taught.
D- Nicole Cruz, Sr., Thousand Oaks-- Scored 3 goals, had 7 assists.
D- Danielle Russell, Sr., L.B. Wilson-- Scored 11 goals, had 11 assists.
D- Amelia Mathis, Sr., Buena-- Has accepted a scholarship to UCLA.
M- Robyn Estrada, Sr., Desert Christian-- Scored 38 goals.
M- Nicole Reed, Sr., La Serna-- Scored 23 goals, 21 assists
M- Kelsea Smith, Sr., Oaks Christian-- Scored 18 goals, 9 assists
F- Nicole Hubbard, Sr., Mayfair-- Finished HS career with 143 goals.
F- Amanda Lisberger, Sr., Brentwood-- Finished HS career with 88 goals.
F- Samantha Prochnow, Sr., L.B. Wilson-- Scored 25 goals, had 17 assists.
F- Zaneta Wyne, Sr., Aliso Niguel-- Scored 9 goals, but all came in the clutch.

Second team:

GK- Larissa Heck, Sr., L.B. Wilson
D- Alyssa Oldham, Sr., Mater Dei
D- Kaitlin Paletta, Sr., Moorpark
D- Justine Sauder, Sr., San Clemente
M- Sam Baker, Sr., L.B. Wilson
M- Alyson Birgel, So., Thousand Oaks
M- Frannie Coxe, Fr., San Clemente
M- Justyne Freud, Sr., Mater Dei
M- Kelly Johnson, Fr., Oaks Christian
F- Alexandra Courtnall, Fr., Oaks Christian
F- Katie Etcher, Sr., El Camino Real

Honorable mention: M- Shelby Garcia, So., San Clemente; M- Jasmine Mendiola, Sr., L.B. Wilson; M- Brittanie Perez, Sr., Mayfair; M- Katie Suits, Sr., Los Alamitos; M- Kelci Wilson, Jr., San Clemente; F- Rachel Wood, Sr., Aliso Niguel.

-- Jaime Cardenas

-- Image from www.TexasSports.com