ECNL AZ Preview – All eyes on U16 teams

<p class="p1">The elite girls club soccer world descends on Phoenix, Arizona this weekend. The ECNL is hosting the National Event at the Reach 11 Sports Complex. The ECNL RL is also hosting an event at the Legacy Sports Complex in Mesa, Arizona (just east of Phoenix).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">College scouts will be at both events this weekend as the Phoenix area will be buzzing with soccer all over the city.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">The U16 age group is going to attract the most eyeballs. Many programs have turned their attention to building recruiting classes for 2024 as planning for the future is key to building a healthy program.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">The ECNL National Event in the 06 age group features 54 teams in total including four teams in the top 11 of the ECNL Champions League standings heading into the weekend.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Legends FC (13-3-2), No. 3 in the Champions League standings, is the top team in the standings at the event. The Southern California squad takes on Washington Premier, Minnesota Thunder, and MVLA during the three-day event. Legends has six players with youth national team experience in [player_tooltip player_id="41393" first="Bryanna" last="Lozano Zazueta"], [player_tooltip player_id="18960" first="Sydney" last="Harpster"], [player_tooltip player_id="18909" first="Isabella" last="Contreras"], [player_tooltip player_id="41389" first="Taylor" last="Kessler"], Karina da Silva, and Kyla Schuster.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Internationals sits at No. 11 in the Champions League standings heading into the weekend. The Ohio squad has been boosted by a terrific quartet of attackers in top form since December. [player_tooltip player_id="25159" first="Eleanor" last="Klinger"], one of the best freshman in the country, has 12 goals and seven assists since December. Katie Scott, with six goals and three assists to her name in recent games, will miss Saturday’s game against San Diego Surf as she was called up to the National Selection Game that night. [player_tooltip player_id="25114" first="Amelia" last="Swinarski"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25167" first="Ella" last="Grode"] have also been standouts in the attack for Internationals and players to watch this weekend.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">MVLA (9-1-4) is another team in the hunt in the Champions League standings heading into the weekend. The Northern California squad faces a tough slate of games with Minnesota Thunder, PDA Blue, and Legends as the three opponents on the schedule. [player_tooltip player_id="33301" first="Samantha" last="Sanchez"] is one of the stars of the team. The winger is one of the best attacking players in the league. She is at her best when running at defenders. Defender [player_tooltip player_id="20154" first="Sarah" last="Tate"] earned a spot in the National Selection Game. The outside back will miss the game on Saturday against Minnesota Thunder as plays in the night game. Midfielder [player_tooltip player_id="18992" first="Addison" last="Haws"] is another player to know on this squad. The center midfielder has been in great form recently. She is a player who can open up the game with her passing or scoring from distance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Crossfire Premier (14-1-3) is looking to extend the unbeaten run since February to nine games with an unbeaten slate of games in Phoenix. The Washington team takes on LAFC So Cal, FC DELCO, and Slammers FC over the weekend. Crossfire comes into the weekend off back-to-back shutouts. [player_tooltip player_id="28318" first="Makayla" last="Werner"] had a standout campaign for her high school team in the fall. She has been red-hot at the club level as well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Check back on PrepSoccer throughout the weekend for daily recaps from the ECNL National Event in Arizona.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>