Wrapping up NXT LVL: Top players, Best XI

The NXT LVL Invitational brought together 39 top boys programs from 10 states for a weekend of competition in Colonie, N.Y. This is the final of the recaps for the event. DAY 3 WHAT WE LEARNED: <ul> <li>Using some transitive logic, Cincinnati gets the nod over Washington, D.C., this year as Archbishop Moeller (Ohio), one of the top three teams in Cincinnati, pinned a 2-0 defeat on Good Counsel (Md.), one of the top three teams in the D.C. metro area. We also saw that the Prep A and Prep B races this year will be highly competitive with the "favorites" really not far ahead of the contenders. NEPSAC Class B power South Kent (Conn.) edged Class A playoff contender Loomis Chaffee (Conn.); Class B challenger Williston Northampton (Mass.) hung with Northwood School (N.Y.). Class A favorites Taft School (Conn.) and Worcester Academy (Mass.) won comfortably, but teams such as St. Andrew’s (R.I.), Milton Academy (Mass.), Buckingham Browne & Nichols (Mass.), Phillips Exeter (N.H.), and Rivers School (Mass.) all could be factors this fall in the A and B races.</li> </ul> Sunday’s Top Performers M [player_tooltip player_id="29151" first="Kelvin" last="Baffour"], Taft School (Conn.), Sr.: The Notre Dame commit buried a penalty kick and beat a couple of defenders to assist on the team’s third goal in a victory. He’s the engine and it’s no secret Taft players through this standout from Ghana. F Jonathan Baptiste, Phillips Exeter (N.H.), Sr.: The right wing was all over the place. He shows an outstanding work rate. M Nash Barlow, Worcester Academy (Mass.), Jr.: A quiet midfielder who, as one coach put it, "pulled all the strings." He was the one who kept Worcester organized in a comfortable victory. M [player_tooltip player_id="34575" first="Augustine" last="Boadi"], Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.), Sr.: The Boston College commit was clearly one of the noticeable players for NMH. He is a native of Accra, Ghana. M Massi Bruno, Shenendehowa (N.Y.), Sr.: Bruno spent time at outside and holding mid. He was able to control the game by keeping the ball moving. M Diego Buyu, Phillips Exeter (N.H.), Sr.: The midfielder also can play the wing. He did all of the work to earn Exeter a penalty kick that ultimately led to a victory over Rivers School. D Carrigan Cullinan, Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), Sr.: A center back who dealt with everything that came his way as Loomis and South Kent played to a 1-0 match. F Emir Cekic, Shenendehowa (N.Y.), Sr.: He is a hard-working forward. In a game with few scoring chances, he buried one to give his team the 1-0 victory. M [player_tooltip player_id="9395" first="Kieran" last="Chandler"], Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), Jr.: A left-footed player who was all over the field. He doesn’t loose battles for the ball. CAM Declan Chapman, Pomfret School (Conn.), Sr.: Assisted Pomfret’s goal. Had the ability to drive in on defenses and create shooting chances. M Kevin Chiang, Lawrenceville School (N.J.), Jr.: A small player, but very effective in the air. He’s able to dig out balls from opponents and spent a lot of Sunday chasing. D Dylan Clack, Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.), Jr.: Originally from Canada, Clack was Choate’s top performer. He played more of a holding center mid position and never came off the field in a 2-0 victory. GK Justin DiCarlo, Hotchkiss School (Conn.), Sr.: It might seem odd listing a keeper that allowed three goals among the day’s top players, but as Hotchkiss’ coach said, it could have been a lot worse. DiCarlo’s ability to make key saves easily kept four or five shots out of the net. CAM Pape Diop, Proctor Academy (N.H.), Sr.: The native of Senegal recovered from a blown-out knee a year ago and dominated play in the midfield in the team’s 3-0 win over Millbrook School. His distribution led the team to plenty of chances and a comfortable win. M [player_tooltip player_id="32326" first="Liam" last="Doyle"], Northwood School (N.Y.), Sr.: Intelligent, strong and he connects play with others. Doyle, who recently committed to Stanford, was Northwood’s top player over the weekend as he put constant pressure on back lines. In the Sunday match with Williston Northampton, he scored the game-winning goal. GK Max Dunphy, South Kent School (Conn.), Sr.: Loomis put South Kent under a lot of pressure, especially in the first half, but Dunphy came up with the key stops to earn a clean sheet. D Lane Foushee, Phillips Exeter (N.H.), Sr.: He played left back on Sunday and he’s a tough player. He also was able to get up and down the field. He could project as a midfielder, as well. LB [player_tooltip player_id="9419" first="Michael" last="Gouvin"], Avon Old Farms (Conn.), Jr.: He was a great 1v1 defender who also was able to help out along the backline. D [player_tooltip player_id="32325" first="Sebastian" last="Green"], Northwood School (N.Y.), Sr.: Green has major college potential. After playing 90 minutes Saturday evening, he put in another 90 Sunday afternoon and never looked tired. He also played a key role in Northwood’s Sunday shutout of Williston Northampton. GK Blake Groff, Hill School (Pa.), Sr.: In a 2-0 loss to High Mowing, Hill’s top performer was the goalkeeper. Groff is a high academic student who made three of four quality saves to keep the match close on the scoreboard. He is very good with his feet and is effective coming off his line. GK Anthony Grguric, Western Reserve Academy (Ohio), Jr.: The Canadian keeper recorded the first shutout for WRA this season in his first start. M [player_tooltip player_id="11981" first="Dylan" last="Henao"], Buckingham Browne and Nichols (Mass.), Sr.: The Boston College commit converted a penalty kick, the final BB&N goal in what ended as a 3-3 draw with Hotchkiss. He was great on the ball. M Alexander Henderson, Taft School (Conn.), Sr.: He’s a defensive midfielder who won a lot of balls and helped Taft build out of the back. Henderson is a native of Montreal, Canada. F [player_tooltip player_id="11963" first="Colin" last="Hughes"], Worcester Academy (Mass.), Sr.: The Colgate commit netted the first goal to jumpstart WA’s 4-0 victory. F Kelly Janssen, Western Reserve Academy (Ohio), Jr.: The 6-foot-3 forward was a handful and delivered the first NXT LVL Invitational hat trick. ... He has very good pace for a tall player. D Devansh Khadka, Phillips Exeter (N.H.), Sr.: The right back held Rivers’ standout forward Mason Shultz in check for most of the match. F [player_tooltip player_id="14534" first="Brock" last="Kiper"], Archbishop Moeller (Ohio), Sr.: The Belmont commit scored in the team’s 2-0 win over Good Counsel, giving him one goal in each of Moeller’s three matches at the event. D Nathaniel Krawshuk, Rivers School (Mass.), Sr.: With five starters out, Rivers was in need of a lift -- and Krawshuk provided that leadership from the back line. F Allesandro Lancia, St. Andrew’s (R.I.), Sr.: Lancia scored a pair of goals, but he was really effective in holding up the ball and getting the team into the attack. D Nick Liebich, Taft School (Conn.), Sr.: The Lafayette commit from Boise, Idaho, played center back and won everything in the air. M [player_tooltip player_id="32328" first="TJ" last="Liquori"], Worcester Academy (Mass.), Jr.: Liquori assisted the team’s first goal, scored the second goal and was clearly the Man of the Match for Worcester Academy. F [player_tooltip player_id="9427" first="Oliver" last="Martin"], Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), Sr.: The Michigan commit created a lot of chances in Loomis’ showdown with South Kent. He holds up the ball well and put South Kent under a lot of pressure, especially in the first half. M Sachiel Ming, Northwood School (N.Y.), So.: Playing on Northwood’s U17 team, Ming scored twice in the win over Pomfret. The native of Bermuda figures to be an impact player once he reached Northwood’s top side. F Athi Msiza, Berkshire School (Mass.), Sr.: The native of South Africa is a good 1v1 player who is very dangerous. M Jace Nacht, Berkshire School (Mass.), Jr.: Nacht had a breakout performance after only playing about 20 minutes all season. He won headers, he kept position, and, most importantly, he scored the team’s only goal while getting about 50 minutes of play as he eases back into the lineup. F Leandro Naous, Bridgton (Maine), Sr.: Naous scored the game-winner as Bridgton defeated South Kent School’s reserves in a match that mostly featured reserves. The teams’ top squads are going head-to-head later in the season. F Mohammed Nunu, Hotchkiss School (Conn.), Jr.: Nunu calmly buried a penalty kick in the closing minutes to draw Hotchkiss into a 3-3 draw with BB&N. It was the second goal on the match for this native of Ghana. He has a willingness to tack on players and make runs off the ball that makes him dangerous. M Christopher Ohmer, Archbishop Moeller (Ohio), Sr.: A workhorse who can play in the midfield or higher up in the attack. He assisted on both goals and played all 80 minutes Sunday. M Adam Osorio, St. Andrew’s (R.I.), Sr.: He’s the engine that gets everything moving for St. Andrew’s. M [player_tooltip player_id="12029" first="Jack" last="Panayotou"], Buckingham Browne and Nichols (Mass.), Sr.: The Georgetown commit was excellent in the midfield and put Hotchkiss under a lot of pressure. He assisted BB&N’s first goal. M Maurice Pigola, Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.), PG: A native of Saxony, Germany, Pigola was NMH’s top performer in a loss to highly ranked Worcester Academy. From his midfield position, he was able to spread the ball around. He has committed to Tufts. M Ethan Prescott, South Kent School (Conn.), Sr.: Won a lot of battles in the midfield, especially in the second half to help South Kent get in control of the match. F Luke Randolph, Milton Academy (Mass.), Sr.: Randolph scored both goals as Milton Academy edged Berkshire 2-1. D Lorenzo Redaelli, Williston Northampton (Mass.), Sr.: The center back from Italy won every 50-50 ball, never got beat, and always was in excellent position. D [player_tooltip player_id="29191" first="Henri" last="Richter"], Milton Academy (Mass.), Sr.: The Northwestern commit organized the team from the back line. As the coach put it, it was his usual great game. D Paolo Roditti, High Mowing (N.H.), Sr.: Roditti, from Ecuador, was the standout performer for High Mowing as he led a defense that shut down Hill School’s attack. M/D Josh Ruthfield, Worcester Academy (Mass.), Sr.: Ruthfield can play in the midfield or back line. He was a presence on the field throughout the day. GK Rushon Sandy, High Mowing (N.H.), Sr.: The keeper from Trinidad & Tobago made a couple key stops to allow High Mowing to shut out Hill School. M Mason Shultz, Rivers School (Mass.), Sr.: Shultz has great pace. He simply ran past people in 1v1 situations. He stressed Phillips Exeter’s defense and scored Rivers’ lone goal. M Sean Stackhouse, Springside Chestnut Hill (Pa.), Sr.: The Division I prospect is very composed under pressure and is able to dictate the play. M Matias Kemper Tapia, Milton Academy (Mass.), Jr.: He helped open up the game for Milton with his ball movement. M Lawrence Taylor, Westminster School (Conn.), Jr.: Several coaches agreed he was the top player for Westminster. CB Peter Tcheleshev, Berkshire School (Mass.), Sr.: He’s the center in Berkshire’s three-back lineup, thus he’s under a lot of pressure. He’s developing into a very strong center back. He won 50-50 balls and made the simple passes on Sunday. D [player_tooltip player_id="32286" first="Adrian" last="Trott"], South Kent School (Conn.), Sr.: Trott put in a lot of great work on the left side of the field, mostly as a left back. He is a native of Bermuda. F Nana Tuffour, Avon Old Farms (Conn.), Jr.: The native of Ghana is very dynamic. He took on defenders and created a number of chances for the team. F/W Ryan White, Springside Chestnut Hill (Pa.), Jr.: Plays outside right wing and his pace makes him dangerous and difficult to deal with. D Patrick Wiercinski, Good Counsel (Md.), Sr.: The center back did an effective job in limiting Archbishop Moeller standout [player_tooltip player_id="14534" first="Brock" last="Kiper"]’s chances. M Greg Yau, Milton Academy (Mass.), Sr.: Yau is a holding mid who contributed defensively and helped the team build from the back. SUNDAY’S BEST XI GK: Max Dunphy, South Kent School (Conn.), Sr. D: [player_tooltip player_id="32325" first="Sebastian" last="Green"], Northwood School (N.Y.), Sr. D: Nick Liebich, Taft School (Conn.), Sr., Lafayette D: [player_tooltip player_id="29191" first="Henri" last="Richter"], Milton Academy (Mass.), Sr., Northwestern M: [player_tooltip player_id="29151" first="Kelvin" last="Baffour"], Taft School (Conn.), Sr., Notre Dame M: [player_tooltip player_id="32326" first="Liam" last="Doyle"], Northwood School (N.Y.), Sr., Stanford M: [player_tooltip player_id="11981" first="Dylan" last="Henao"], Buckingham Browne and Nichols (Mass.), Sr., Boston College M: [player_tooltip player_id="32328" first="TJ" last="Liquori"], Worcester Academy (Mass.), Jr. M: [player_tooltip player_id="12029" first="Jack" last="Panayotou"], Buckingham Browne and Nichols (Mass.), Sr., Georgetown F: [player_tooltip player_id="9427" first="Oliver" last="Martin"], Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), Sr., Michigan F: Nana Tuffour, Avon Old Farms (Conn.), Jr.

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Wrapping up NXT LVL: Top players, Best XI

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