Texas Shootout – Midfielders 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 midfielders will help their teams on both sides of the ball:
Lily Brown
Lily Brown
Brown plays with a lot of energy in the center of the midfield of her Challenge SC ECNL RL G06. She’s a hard-working defensive player, who covers a lot of ground on the field, making stops and covering her teammates with tremendous efficiency. Brown is excellent with her defensive actions, timing her tackles extremely well and having great success in 50-50 plays. She also has a lot of quality when in possession, connecting good passes with both feet and displaying good vision to find teammates in dangerous spots. She’s also a scoring threat herself as she often supports the attack through the middle and attempts long-distance shots from outside the penalty box.
Expect Lambert to be one of the most creative playmakers in her Albion Hurricanes FC ECNL G06 team. A University of North Texas commit, she’s very skilled on the ball and normally operates in a more central region of the field, from where she can connect good passes. Lambert has great vision, often breaking defensive lines with intelligent one-touch passes and creating dangerous situations with her excellent decision-making. She’s very good at creating space too, getting on the ball under pressure and releasing herself with quick turns and dribbles. Lambert also likes to finish from outside the penalty box, firing well-placed, curled shots on goal.
Highlights
One of the highest-regarded prospects in Texas, Fuller is the heart and brains of her Solar SC ECNL G06 team. She’s a special offensive player, but plays in the team’s midfield and brings incredible energy on both sides of the ball. Fuller seems to be everywhere on the field and gets on the ball a lot, being involved with the team’s chance creation. She’s very difficult to defend because she can hurt opponents in a variety of ways, such as making solo runs through the middle, beating them off the dribble, combining with her teammates and finishing from distance. Besides her dynamism, Fuller also has tremendous quality, which makes her have great success in most of her actions.
Highlights
A box-to-box midfielder, Ferrell plays a big role with Sting Austin ECNL G07. When coaches have a special talent, they want them on the ball as much as possible and that’s what makes of Ferrell’s role a good fit for her. She plays with a lot of energy in the center region of the field and does a lot of work off the ball to keep her team in good shape defensively. Ferrell keeps the team in rhythm when in possession and makes a huge offensive impact with her very complete game, using her vision to assist her teammates and her finishing ability to score. She’s also very effective in set pieces.
Highlights
Alvarez sits in front of FC Dallas ECNL G08’s backline in her defensive midfield role and makes a huge impact on her team from there. Besides patrolling the center of the field and helping the team stop plays and win possession with her excellent tackles, she also dominates in the air, getting in the way of long passes and getting clearances on defensive set pieces. Alvarez is also very involved on the offensive side of the game, dictating the team’s tempo with her intelligent ball distribution and playing a major role in their buildup, helping with the ball circulation.