Pushing The Limits Riverside Senior Forward Larissa Mueller Ties Team’S Top Scorer

Thu., Oct. 21, 1999

By Janie McCauley janiem@spokesman.com

Larissa Mueller doesn’t keep track of her goals.

And it’s a good thing. With more than 100 for her career, it would be easy to lose track.

She has.

Mueller, a senior forward for the Great Northern League-leading Riverside girls soccer team, began the week with 112 goals for her career and 16 this season. That ties her for the 1999 team lead with Jamie Rizzuto. The Rams host GNL second-place Pullman in an important match at 4 p.m. today.

Mueller sat out for more than a week after straining the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in a 4-3 win over Pullman on Sept. 30. But she didn’t waste any time getting back into her scoring mode. She had two goals in her first game back, a 6-1 win over Deer Park last Thursday.

Mueller scored twice in a 5-2 loss to Shadle Park on Sept. 11 to reach the 100 mark.

Four of her goals this fall came in non-league games against Greater Spokane League competition, and she scored three against 3A West Valley.

“I’m not saying it was easy to score in our league, but it’s definitely harder against GSL teams,” she said. “(Playing at that level) helps me think about things I need to work on.”

As a freshman, Mueller said she had no idea she would score this many goals.

“Going into my first game it was a lot more aggressive than I thought it would be,” she said. “It was a big step up from select soccer. I really had no clue what I was capable of.”

Once Rams coach Kevin Moon realized that Mueller was nearing 100, he and Mueller had to check with her freshman coach to figure out her goals total from that season. Deer Park and Riverside were a combined team then, and Mueller was the team’s second-leading scorer.

Mueller hopes to play in college at Kalamazoo (Mich.) College. She has relatives in Michigan and said, “It’s just a really pretty place, and they have a good soccer team.”

Mueller has diabetes but has fought through it to play soccer. Moon said she will be missed at Riverside.

“Larissa’s done a lot on her own,” Moon said. “If anything else I’ve been more critical of her so she’s not just content on her goal scoring. I know it’s been frustrating for her at times. We’re working on other parts of her game.”

Moon expects Kelly Ostby to pick up some of the scoring load next season with Mueller and Rizzuto gone.

“With Larissa and Rizzuto leaving, it’s going to be very hard to replace two punches like that,” Moon said.

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