Meet SBLive's national high school girls soccer players of the year in 2021-22

Here are 20 high school girls soccer players from 20 states who had a season worthy of national recognition.

Kate Carter photo by Tommy Land

We've officially shifted from the 2021-22 high school sports season to the 2022-23 preseason, so it's time to look back on the stars of the past fall, winter and spring seasons before we start looking ahead to who's next.

We started by highlighting some of the players of the year in volleyball, and next came the top football players and boys soccer players in the nation. 

Vote now: Who was the national high school volleyball player of the year in 2021-22?

Vote now: Who was the national high school football player of the year in 2021-22?

Vote now: Who was the national high school boys soccer player of the year in 2021-22?

Now it's the top girls soccer players' turn.

Over the next few weeks we'll also be featuring the top stars nationally in boys and girls basketball, boys and girls track and field, softball and baseball.

Here are 20 high school girls soccer players who had a season worthy of national recognition.

Arizona: Tatum Thomason, forward/midfielder, Liberty, sr.

Thomason had 39 goals and 20 assists to lead Liberty (17-6) to the 6A state semifinals as a senior. She had six hat tricks and 13 multi-goal games and will be playing for the Washington Huskies in college.

Arkansas: Kate Carter, defender/forward, Bentonville West, sr.

The versatile Carter scored 16 goals and had 11 assists in leading Bentonville West (18-6) to the Class 6A state championship. She scored the first goal in a 2-1 win over Fayetteville in the championship game.

California: Natalie Mitchell, midfielder, Temecula Valley, sr.

Mitchell led Temecula Valley to the CIF Southern Section Division I title and the CIF-State Division I Southern California regional championship. She scored 35 goals, added 15 assists and will be playing college soccer for East Carolina.

Florida: Michelle Horan, forward, North Fort Myers, sr.

Horan put together her third straight balanced season as a scorer and passer, finding the back of the net 23 times while completing 22 assists in 18 games. She finished her high school career with 77 goals and 80 assists and will be playing college soccer for Florida Atlantic.

Georgia: Riley Jackson, midfielder, Blessed Trinity, soph.

Jackson missed the high school postseason while leading the U.S. Soccer Under-17 Women's National Team to the championship at the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament, earning honors as the tourney's top player. The national Gatorade Player of the Year heads into her junior year with 36 career goals and 48 assists for Blessed Trinity.

Idaho: Elliotte Kortus, forward, Lake City, jr.

Kortus moved from Seattle to Coeur d’Alene just before the fall 2021 season and didn't miss a beat with her new team. She led Lake City to a 17-2 record and the Class 5A state championship, scoring 27 goals and adding 22 assists on the season. Kortus has already committed to play for Washington State.

Indiana: Amelia White, forward/midfielder, Homestead, sr.

White led Homestead to a 22-0 record and the Class 4A state championship as a senior, scoring 25 goals and adding 15 assists. One of the top-ranked Class of 2022 recruits in the nation, White chose to continue her soccer career at Penn State.

Iowa: Avery Horner, forward, Bettendorf, sr.

Horner, a two-time first-team All-State honoree and a member of the U.S. Olympic Development Program national team, had 27 goals and 21 assists in her senior season. She'll be playing college soccer in 2022-23 for Iowa State.

Kansas: Sydney Watts, forward, St. Thomas Aquinas, jr.

Watts scored 37 goals to lead St. Thomas Aquinas to a 17-0-2 record and a second straight Class 5A state championship in her junior season. A member of the U.S. Soccer Under-17 Women’s National Team player pool, she'll shoot for three straight in 2022-23 before heading to college at Vanderbilt.

Kentucky: Ella Sanchez, forward/midfielder, Ballard, jr.

Sanchez was one of the top goal scorers in the country this past season, putting 64 in the back of the net. With one more year of high school remaining, she's already amassed 144 goals and 60 assists in her prep career.

Louisiana: Kelsey Major, forward, St. Mary's Dominican, sr.

The back-to-back Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year, Major had 38 goals and 19 assists as a senior to lead St. Mary's Dominican to the Division 1 state championship. She's staying in-state to play college soccer for LSU.

Mississippi: Kate Smith, forward, Gulfport, sr.

Smith scored 36 goals and passed for 21 assists this past season, leading the Admirals (20-1-1) to the Class 6A state quarterfinals and earning her second straight Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year award. She'll be playing college soccer at Ole Miss.

New Jersey: Melina Rebimbas, forward, Rutgers Prep, jr.

The Class of 2023 North Carolina commit has attended multiple training camps with the U.S. Soccer Under-17 Women’s National Team. Rebimbas had 40 goals and 31 assists this past season to lead Rutgers Prep (21-2) to the Non-Public B Division state championship game.

Ohio: Peyton Kohls, forward, Mount Notre Dame, jr.

Kohls scored 11 of her 27 goals in undefeated Mount Notre Dame's seven-game postseason run to the program's first Division I state championship. She'll try to help her team go back-to-back before moving on to play college soccer at Xavier.

Oklahoma: Samantha Allen, forward, Noble, sr.

Allen scored 56 goals in just 14 games, giving her what's widely believed to be the career Oklahoma high school goals record with 169. She's staying in-state to play for Oklahoma State in college.

Oregon: Lindsey Antonson, forward, Wilsonville, sr.

Antonson became the career goals leader in Oregon as a senior, piling up 52 in 19 games to finish with 139 in her prep career. She led Wilsonville to an 18-0-1 record and the Class 5A state championship and will be playing for Oregon State in 2022-23.

Pennsylvania: Halle Engle, forward, Mechanicsburg, sr.

Engle scored 50 goals in leading the Wildcats (18-4-2) to the Class 3A state quarterfinals, giving her 132 career high school goals. She signed to play college soccer for Liberty University in Virginia.

Tennessee: Brinley Murphy, forward, Bearden, jr.

Murphy scored 30 goals despite facing double-teams all season, and she led Bearden to a 23-0-1 record and the Class 3A state championship. She'll enter her senior season 25 goals away from tying the career program scoring record of 94, and after that she'll be playing for South Carolina.

Texas: Kennedy Fuller, midfielder, Southlake Carroll, fr.

One of the top-ranked freshmen in the nation, Fuller has a chance to become a four-time Texas Gatorade Player of the Year after winning the award in her first year of high school. She had 26 goals and 15 assists to lead Southlake Carroll to the 6A state championship.

Washington: Hayden Crowley, forward, Richland, sr.

Crowley scored 25 goals and had 21 assists in her senior season, leading Richland (21-1) to the Class 4A state semifinals. She graduated in January and signed with Washington, where she enrolled early.