Standouts from GA Florida Opening Day

<p class="p1">The Girls Academy Champions League kicked off on Thursday from IMG Academy campus in Bradenton, Florida. The opening day featured the Round of 16 action in the U19 and U17 age groups<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">From the contests on the marquee fields, there were a number of standouts from the opening games.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="20363" first="Peyton" last="Nourse"], Colorado Rush 03/04 - Nourse is the type of player the opposition has to keep track of at all times. She is an attacking midfielder in positional sense, but she is a ruthless striker when on the ball. In the first half of the win over OL Reign, she went to her right foot three times to hit a shot from outside of the box. She scored once on the attempts. In the second half, she made a point to push the ball to her left foot to create space for a shot. Maddie Brady did well for Rush in the first half to put home her chance. The wide forward is a fluid athlete who should be a great fit at the college level.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="29322" first="Ella" last="Ciardullo"], NTH Tophat 03/04 - Thursday might have been the best game Ciardullo has played at the club level. She was excellent in the attack for Tophat in the victory over SC Wave. Her dynamic change of pace and quick feet helped draw two fouls in the box in the opening half of the game. She is a sprinter with the ball at her feet and can put defenders on her back within the first 10 yards. That elite pace will translate well at the next level.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="33153" first="Bailey" last="Piper"], IMG Academy 03/04 - The IMG Academy victory ended up coming down to a penalty kick shootout. The goalkeeper made a terrific save with her foot on the last attempt to seal the win. Alexis Washington showed some quality in the game as well for IMG. She had a terrific goal in the first half as she crossed up a defender with a good pause move and then showed her awareness to just place the shot into the lower corner of the goal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="29295" first="Julia" last="Saunicheva"], FC Bay Area Surf 03/04 - With a goal and an assist early in the contest, Saunicheva looked unstoppable in the opening day win. FC Bay Area was in top form from the start on Thursday and they should be playing in the winner’s bracket all week if they keep up this quality.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="29260" first="Tatum" last="Thomason"], SC del Sol 03/04 - Thomason’s game continues to develop, which must be like finding an extra present on Christmas morning to her future college coaches. Thomason already had the tools to be a winger or center forward with high pressing qualities. She is more refined on the ball now and sees the game from an attacking midfield role as well. Her additions to the toolkit will be make her hard to keep off the field at the next level.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="23986" first="Gabrielle" last="Koluch"], Cedar Stars Academy - Monmouth 03/04 - Koluch, the defensive midfielder, got her feet on so many passes early in the second half. She did well reading the opposition and jumping into the passing lane early to stop the attack. She also made a great pass in the first to start the play for the goal. Koluch’s intelligence on the field really shines thanks to her teammates as they highlighted her sophisticated approach.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="29370" first="Ella" last="Offer"], Nationals 03/04 - Offer provided the crucial delivery on the late equalizer in the game against Cedar Stars. The left back was outstanding in the game, and provided the punctuation with an assist that will live on for some time. Hitting a ball in with pace and accuracy is a rarity from the club game, she will do well at the next level with that attribute.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>