Standouts at ECNL New Jersey Showcase: Midfielders

Players Development Academy hosted a girls ECNL showcase over Memorial Day Weekend in Somerset, N.J. I was able to watch several games at the Morningside Farm and PDA Complex last Saturday. Here's a look at some of the midfielders that stood out to me at the event. <h2>U17</h2> [caption id="attachment_46700" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/06/6N4A0494-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1654236838.jpg"><img class="wp-image-46700 size-medium" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/06/6N4A0494-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1654236838-300x197.jpg" alt="[player_tooltip player_id=" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="23327" first="Rilyn" last="Rintoul"][/caption][player_tooltip player_id="23327" first="Rilyn" last="Rintoul"], Midfielder, Minnesota Thunder U17 Rilyn was the playmaker for Minnesota I was most impressed with in their 1-1 draw with LAFC So Cal and not just because she had the lone goal. Her passing and decision-making was on point. [player_tooltip player_id="19479" first="Halle" last="Dixon"], Midfielder, San Diego Surf U17 Dixon was hard to stop 1v1 off the dribble, creating scoring chances seemingly every time she touched the ball in a 3-0 win for the Surf over De Anza Force on Saturday. One of the best dribblers of the ball I saw all day and probably the player I would least want to try to defend. [player_tooltip player_id="25773" first="Ella" last="Koschineg"], Midfielder, FC Bucks U17 Koschineg may have been on the team that lost 2-0 (to the Utah Royals) but she was for me the most impressive overall player on the field. Winning tackles, starting counter attacks, dummying the ball, she was displaying a wide range of skills despite a comeback effort that came up short. She was recently highlighted as a player to watch in the <a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2022/05/rankings-analysis-loaded-2024-class-in-pa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PA rankings for the class of 2024</a>. [caption id="attachment_46701" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-46701 size-medium" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/06/6N4A9206-300x200.jpg" alt="Sasha Gomez" width="300" height="200" /> Sasha Gomez[/caption] Sasha Gomez, Midfielder, FC Prime U17 Gomez was at the center of the FC Prime attack against PDA and did a good job playing low lining balls to the outside and also switching the field of play off the ball. Her pace, height and quick release made her a tough defensive assignment. [player_tooltip player_id="27739" first="Georgia" last="Skelton"], Midfielder, Richmond United U17 Skelton was on the ball a lot and battling defensively in the middle of the field for Richmond in their 2-1 loss to Michigan Hawks. I liked her work rate and physicality going both ways and playing on the turf had to leave more than a couple marks with the number of times she ended up getting fouled or fell to the turf. [player_tooltip player_id="23279" first="Ashley" last="Thurk"], Midfielder, Minnesota Thunder Academy U17 Thurk flashed some notable skill on the ball, weaving her way through defenders and taking on physical challenges even on a field that was heavily waterlogged. [caption id="attachment_46704" align="alignleft" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-46704 size-medium" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/06/6N4A9502-2-300x200.jpg" alt="[player_tooltip player_id=" width="300" height="200" /> [player_tooltip player_id="23796" first="Abigail" last="Daly"][/caption][player_tooltip player_id="23796" first="Abigail" last="Daly"], Midfielder, World Class FC U17 Though I didn't get to see a lot of World Class's dominant performance in New Jersey (they outscored opponents 10-1), Daly immediately stood out to me in their 4-1 win over Tampa Bay United. Even playing on the waterlogged pitch, Daly's talent on the ball and ability to change directions and keep defenders guessing was apparent. [player_tooltip player_id="19149" first="Ava" last="Dermott"], Midfielder, LAFC So Cal U17 While LAFC had to defend a lot against Minnesota, Dermott provided a lift to the offense with her hard running and passing out of pressure. [player_tooltip player_id="33411" first="Brooke" last="Vogel"], Midfielder, Penn Fusion U17 Vogel was supposed to be playing in the National Select game Saturday night but rejoined her club team after the game was canceled. It's not hard to see why she was selected. Vogel is silky smooth on the ball, making tricky ball movement look easy and seemingly has a sixth sense for finding teammates in transition. <h2>U16</h2> [player_tooltip player_id="24113" first="Kyra" last="Samalonis"], Midfielder, PDA South U16 Samalonis was pulling the strings in the midfield for PDA South and looked confident doing so. [player_tooltip player_id="21067" first="Cayla" last="Jackson"], Midfielder, Tampa Bay United U16 Jackson was a presence for Tampa Bay in the middle of the park in their 2-1 win over Slammers FC HB Koge, using her strength to win and keep the ball and pace to create chances going the other way. She also added a penalty kick goal on the day. Kaylee Shozi, Midfielder, Slammers FC HB Koge U16 Shozi was on the ball quite a bit in the attack for the Slammers don't the right side and stood out to me with her ability to change directions, vision and passing range. <h2>U15</h2> [caption id="attachment_46702" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-46702 size-medium" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/06/6N4A9362-2-300x200.jpg" alt="[player_tooltip player_id=" width="300" height="200" /> [player_tooltip player_id="23257" first="Susana" last="Roberts"][/caption][player_tooltip player_id="23257" first="Susana" last="Roberts"], Midfielder, Michigan Hawks U15 In an exciting back and forth 2-1 win over Connecticut FC, Roberts was the most exciting player to watch. Her ability to continually push the tempo created a number of chances off counter attacks but also disrupted the CFC attack and created holes in their shape to exploit. Reagan Pentz, Midfielder, Cleveland Force U15 Every time it looked like Wilmington Hammerheads was going to run away with the game, Pentz was there to push the ball back the other way and get the Force attack going. [player_tooltip player_id="24963" first="Minnie" last="Kelly"], Midfielder, Wilmington Hammerheads U15 The Hammerheads have a number of weapons, but Kelly was the one who was most consistently making things happen in what I saw of their 2-2 draw with Cleveland Force. Riley Peat, Midfielder, Wilmington Hammerheads U15 Riley was effective throughout the 2-2 draw with Cleveland Force playing in that deep-lying playmaker role, recycling plays initially broken up with clever late runs and intelligent passes.