ECNL Houston – Day 3 Standouts
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The ECNL National Event in Houston came to an end on Monday, President’s Day, with the last set of matches played at both the Meyer Park and the Burroughs Park locations, north of downtown. Teams from the entire country were…
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Continue ReadingThe ECNL National Event in Houston came to an end on Monday, President’s Day, with the last set of matches played at both the Meyer Park and the Burroughs Park locations, north of downtown.
Teams from the entire country were on the field and several of them showed excellent promise. Prep Soccer was following the action at Burroughs Park, where the G08 was in action, and, repeating what we did on Sunday, let’s highlight one top performer from each of the 16 teams we had the chance to watch.
Eastside FC 08 2 – 0 Kansas City Athletics 08
The forward played a key role in the team’s victory as she scored the first goal and assisted for the second. Newman used her physical tools to get on the ball around the midfield line and had good success making runs toward the penalty box from there. She was very opportunistic and calm to score her goal, getting on the end of a free kick attempt and taking the goalkeeper away with a single touch. She was a problem for Kansas City’s backline during the entire and used her ability in corner kicks to assist for the team’s second goal.
Highlights
Mary Hoffman
Mary Hoffman
Although her efforts ultimately didn’t result in goals, Hoffman did a very good job on Kansas City’s frontline. Playing more to the right, she has a handful of dangerous runs, using her pace and ball control to progress toward the penalty box. Hoffman also has a strong dribbling ability and power in her finishes, but ended seeing her attempts denied. She was very smart in timing her runs and getting the ball behind Eastside FC’s backline.
Sting Austin 08 1 – 0 United Futbol Academy 08
Mia Wiele was rock solid in the middle of Austin Sting’s defense, using her pace and excellent positioning to dismantle most of United’s offensive efforts. Her understanding of the game allowed her to make the right move time and time again, going for interceptions when she had the time and dropping back to cover when she didn’t. Besides that, Wiele also scored the game-winning goal with a beautiful shot from a difficult angle, getting into a ball that rebounded from a corner kick that she had taken.
Highlights
Eliza Barber
Eliza Barber
If United didn’t get on the scoreboard, it wasn’t for a lack of trying or talent from Barber. The team captain, she embraced the responsibility of creating chances and did a very good job with her ball distribution. Very intelligent with her movement, getting into good spots and playing quickly through the middle. Barber dropped a little bit deeper to get on the ball on some occasions to spray longer passes or try to drive the ball forward herself.
Eclipse Select SC 08 4 – 0 GSA 08
Rogers was electric in the midfield for Eclipse, creating real problems for GSA’s backline with her movement. She scored an early goal by getting on the end of a low cross with a strong and intelligent run into the penalty and that made things considerably easier for Eclipse. Rogers was very quick in her mind and on the ball and allowed opponents no opportunity to stop her. She also did a very good job of dropping deeper and helping her team create chances with good combination plays.
Highlights
Avril Clark
Avril Clark
Although her team has conceded four times, I’m confident to say Clark had one of the strongest defensive performances of the day. She shut down the right side of GSA’s defense for most of the time and make some impressive plays against the ball. Clark had great positioning on defense and had great success in her tackles, timing them well and using the right amount of power to get the ball back.
SLSG Navy 08 2 – 2 Tennessee Soccer Club 08
SLSG Navy’s No. 10 played an excellent match, getting involved with most of the team’s offense and scoring one of their goals in the match. DiMaria’s primary position was on the left, but she was very smart to drift inside and find the ball in a more central area of the field. She used some impressive body moves to elude her opponents and had some successful runs with the ball. In the play in which she scored, DiMaria displayed great intelligence to make a run into an open area inside the penalty box and superior technical skills to send it to the back of the net with a one-touch finish.
Mallorie Springs
Mallorie Springs
Tennessee’s target forward, Springs was very active up top. She uses her frame really well to shield balls and fight for them and makes good holdup play with her back to the goal. Springs has good pace too and had some interesting runs down the flanks. She fought for the ball in the play that ended with her goal and scored with a beautiful chip.
Solar SC 08 1- 1 Concorde Fire Platinum 08
Fuller’s intelligent play in the center of the field was one of the highlights of Solar’s performance as the talented No. 10 created several chances from her midfielder spot. She played several one-touch passes that not only helped her team speed up the game, but also found teammates in good spots. Fuller used her vision to take them out of pressure when Concorde pushed their lines higher but also to combine with striker Kamiya Beck Kamiya Beck F Lancaster | 2026 State TX up top. She also made good runs into the penalty box to finish.
Lauren Malsom
Lauren Malsom
Malsom played a couple of different roles with Concorde and had good performances in both of them. She started the match playing up top and often got the ball to her feet and made some good turns to fool Solar’s defenders and make runs. She dropped deeper later and was more involved with the team’s playmaking from the middle, showing good skills on the ball and great vision. Malsom also worked really hard without the ball, putting pressure on the opposing defenders.
Pride SC 08 2 – 2 Classics Elite 08
Pollmiller and her nonstop movement helped Pride SC keep Classic’s backline under pressure for the entire match. They were able to keep her offside on some occasions, but when Pollmiller did get the ball, she created problems on the right. She was very intelligent with her movement, switching sides during plays and causing some confusion among the defenders that were around her. Pollmiller also displayed good presence inside the penalty box and great hustle to score a last-minute goal that tied the match.
Cunningham did a great job of making herself available for her teammates. A tall and athletic forward, she made good runs through both flanks and was intelligent to get on the ball behind the backline. Cunningham’s pace was so impressive that even when she started behind, she would still put a lot of pressure on the defender she was chasing. She also displayed good talent to check back around the midifield line to help her team move the ball around.
Highlights
FC Dallas 08 2 – 1 Sporting Blue Valley 08
A very complete forward, Taylor occupied Sporting’s backline during the entire match and on some occasions, opponents would even double up on her. She displayed great resources, both physically and technically and always found intelligent solutions when the ball found her up top. Taylor was also very efficient when taking corner kicks and ended up scoring the team’s game-winning goal.
Highlights
Mackinly Rodell
Mackinly Rodell
Taylor had to battle to score her goal and much of it was due to Rodell’s excellent performance. She was defending Dallas’ striker basically 1 on 1 and had some good success in stopping her or at least keeping her away from the penalty box. Rodell was great in the air and also made some very good tackles. Her positioning was excellent and she also played a clean possession game.
Crossfire Premier 08 2 – 1 Sting Dallas Black 08
Koszorus ability on the ball gave Crossfire excellent power on the offensive end as she used her skills to produce in a variety of ways. Very smooth on the ball, she displayed an interesting skill set, with great ability to dribble, excellent vision to pass and power to finish. She played as somewhat of a false nine at times, dropping deeper to get on the back and feeding the wingers that made runs on the flanks.
Simpson worked hard to try and help Dallas even the score after Crossfire’s comeback. With great pace and playing aggressively, she made some good runs through the left and the middle and created some problems for her opponents, who often stopped her with fouls. Simpson timed her runs very well and was very direct when she was on the ball. She fought hard to win possession back and to press opposing defenders.