Texas Shootout – Goalkeepers to Watch
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One of the most traditional soccer showcases in the state of Texas, the Texas Shootout will be held this coming weekend, with matches going on from Friday to Sunday in three different locations around the Houston area. The 36th edition…
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Continue ReadingOne of the most traditional soccer showcases in the state of Texas, the Texas Shootout will be held this coming weekend, with matches going on from Friday to Sunday in three different locations around the Houston area.
The 36th edition of the event will reunite more than 130 teams in the Girls’ U15-U19 age groups, in a list that includes some of the top sides from Texas in the ECNL and GA leagues.
As we prepare for the tournament, let’s take a look at some of the top talent that will be in action this week. These are some solid goalkeepers who will be on the field:
Ava Hunt
Ava Hunt
Hunt is the starting goalkeeper of the Challenge SC ECNL-RL G06 team. I got to watch her action recently and she’s extremely reliable and safe with her moves, doing an excellent job between the posts. Because of her agility and her determination, she’s often capable of extending her range and dominating the penalty box, quickly getting out of goal to collect loose balls or to get in the way of opposing forwards as they prepare to shoot. Hunt has very good instincts to make saves, uses her feet efficiently to make stops and keeps her backline alert and engaged by communicating with them frequently.
Gustafson is coming from a stellar high school season with Celina, in which she helped the team secure its second-straight title while only conceding ten goals throughout the entire season. The Dallas Texans ECNL G06 shot-stopper is a very solid goalkeeper, who stands out for her very complete game, with no clear flaws or weaknesses. Gustafson is excellent with her positioning and is very agile and explosive, making some impressive saves in short-distance shots and deflected balls. She’s also the type of goalkeeper that steps up in big moments of matches, coming up with big saves and plays that keep her team in games.
Madelyn Mech
Madelyn Mech
Mech had a strong high school season with Jordan and is now featuring for her club team Rise SC 07G GA. She’s excellent with her movement between the posts, quickly moving to the best spot to make the save, and is very rarely caught out of position. Mech is a goalkeeper that will deliver big saves often, but is above anything very consistent, transmitting a lot of confidence to her teammates. She has numerous strengths in her game, dealing well with long-distance shots, doing a good job when asked to step away from the goal to make 1v1 stops and also succeeding when collecting crosses inside the penalty box.
Shelby Coleman Shelby Coleman M TX
Shelby Coleman Shelby Coleman M TX
Coleman will be operating between the posts for FC Dallas’ ECNL G07 team and good luck to those trying to score on her. She’s incredibly consistent and efficient, making difficult saves look easier with her positioning and reading of the game. Coleman is somewhat of a cerebral goalkeeper, who uses her intelligence to simplify her actions and get the best results out of them, but is also impressively athletic and explosive when she goes for the ball. She always looks very calm between the posts and also uses her feet very well, connecting good passes from the back.
The talented O’Steen will be in action with her strong Solar SC ECNL G08 team during the weekend. Regarded as one of the most promising goalkeepers in the entire country, she has all the tools to perform at the highest level despite her young age. Her size gives her incredible reach in between the posts and O’Steen is also tremendously athletic and explosive. Her efficiency and her superior technical skills give her and her teammates a lot of defensive confidence. She used to be a very good field player when younger and her quality on the ball is another significant attribute in her game as she’s very confident on the ball and capable of hitting some excellent long passes from the back.