pobr

Murphy appeared to be man-marked by two players (#23 and #24) the entire time she was on the field. She scored a goal and got an assist in 40 minutes of play (30 in 1st half and 10 in 2nd approximately).

Well, I'm from middle TN and I think WJR has pretty accurately lined out how the DII tournament should shape up.

No, I'm not joking. No coach wants to lose a game, but in Baylor's case they don't focus on the outcome, especially early in the season. Again, in the game against Centennial (the only loss I saw), as they have every other game, Baylor has a substitution rotation that had half of their starting line-up out of the game for the last six minutes of the game. Now, I'm sure the coach wanted to win, but it did seem like it was worth it to him, to take away the development opportunity for the younger players by pulling them out of a close game. That is probably the reason that Baylor is always in the state finals...they are continually developing their players.

What Kizzle said was, that if Baylor plays up to its potential then it will win state easily. While I don't believe any state championship will be won easily, I do agree that 'if' Baylor does play like it is capable of then they will undoubtably win it all. I would assume that in both games against Centennial and Germantown that they didn't play up to their potential. If they do not play up to their capabilities in the state, then they will not win. I also agree with another thread in this forum that said that Baylor's coach doesn't play to beat a team by a lot of goals, or win all the games they play. If you have watched them play, you will see that they have played their entire team for large parts of every game, several of which are freshmen. The example you gave against Webb, didn't elaboate that if Baylor had played at full strength for the entire game, the score would have easily been 8-0. Their coach does focus on player development over simply playing his primary players to win a game. As in years past, I would assume all that his horses will play as long as they are needed, and when they need a break that they have a deep bench.

This is not a name I recognize either. Is her team still in the playoffs? Perhaps I will get a chance to see her at the state tournament.

Tell me her name. If she's a junior or senior, I need to know it. Although I must tell you, ODP begins to mean less and less as a player gets older. The fallout rate for players ages 16 and above, including those that have previously made regional pools, is very high. Most of the players that have competed at that level for a few years, find it to be not worth the sacrifice in time.

Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga has consistently put out a small group of 'top' quality female soccer players over the past 10 years. This could be due to a number of reason (i.e., good club teams/coaches, ODP participation, etc.), but that really doesn't matter. A player can't be downplayed because they have these resources. I will state again, the three best female soccer players in Tennessee this season are: 1. Ashley Murphy, Baylor School. Best ball skills with both feet; best passer; best in the air, and; best field presence. Always makes her team better. Plays on a team that has won two state titles, with perhaps another this year, and a state runner-up. Was state-tournament MVP as a sophmore, and has been first-team all-state three straight years. Her club team has won two state titles, and she has been a six-year participant in Tennessee's Olympic Development program. Won a national championship in 3v3 competition last year at the Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, FL. Also, a mid-B student. No college commitment known. 2. Kaley Forrest, Franklin High. Best finisher; outstanding ball skills; best off the ball. Always makes her team better. Plays on a team that has won two state titles, with another possible this year, and had one state runner-up, and made the state all-tournament team twice. Has been first-team all-state twice. Her club team has won two state titles (same team as Murphy), and has participated in Tennessee's ODP program for six years. She also won a national 3v3 title (same team as Murphy) last year. An upper-B student. No college commitment known. 3. Sarah Dennison (according to her transcript), Germantown Houston. Best speed with the ball under control; great finisher; outstanding off the ball; great leadership with relatively young team, as demonstrated this year. Although she has had average team success in high school, her club team has won state titles three years. She has also participated in the ODP program four years, being selected to the regional team last year. An A student. It is understood that she has verbally commited to Vanderbilt. This is not to say that all the other women discussed in this forum are good high school players...I'm sure that are. However, there is a huge difference in being good and being among the best.

I have seen Ooltewah play twice, and do not recognize either of those two girls' names. Holly may have skill and power, but not in comparison to this group of women. Also, speed accounts for very little if a player has very little ball skills. One player from Ooltewah I do remember that was fairly quick, and played outside, could only go to her right with the ball. No doubt, these girls may score alot in the season, but would not fair nearly as well against good competition, such as Baylor and GPS, which were the two games I watched.

[quote It seems that this thread is primarily from the Southeast TN area, with most people bringing up their friends/teammates...most of whom, we have never heard of. I have been fortunate enough to watch HS soccer around the state this year and do not have a bias. These three players are definitely the best in the state, in the order listed. As for the Southeast TN area (i.e., Chattanooga) the best players are (in rank order): Ashley Murphy (Baylor) Nikki Brannen (Notre Dame) Paige Lainter (Baylor) Caitlin Cook (GPS) Rachel Rushworth (Red Bank) Heather Trimmew (CCS) Jessica Creech (Ooltewah) Kate Mincy (Soddy-Daisy) DEFENDER Catherine Krug (Baylor) DEFENDER Amy Scheimerhorn (Notre Dame) DEFENDER Emily Cornett (Notre Dame) KEEPER Kate Chessnut (GPS) KEEPER I believe this covers all areas. Some of these you might disagree with (thus the reason for a forum), but anyone that recognizes good soccer would not argue with the first two! Also, the best girls' coach in that area is Jimmy Weekly (Baylor), based on both results and player development.

I believe she is #2 (or perhaps #20). She is their forward.

As a truely outside observer, I see the overall rankings for all Divisions as follows: 1st - Baylor 2nd - Franklin 3rd - Germantown 4th - Brentwood 5th - Farragut 6th - Hendersonville 7th - Beech 8th - Tullahoma 9th - Chattanooga Christian 10th - Girls Preparatory School

First, Ashley Murphy(Baylor); second, Kaley Forest (Franklin), and; third, Sara Dennison (Germantown). All three of these players can play for most D1 schools.

BEST is very subjective. However, the most highly recruited womens' high school soccer players in TN are: