Aggieland Friendship Cup – Five Players to Watch – U16
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The start of girls’ club soccer competition in the country’s main leagues is just around the corner and teams from the entire country have been spending the last few weeks in preparation matches or tournaments, where they can fine-tune their…
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Continue ReadingThe start of girls’ club soccer competition in the country’s main leagues is just around the corner and teams from the entire country have been spending the last few weeks in preparation matches or tournaments, where they can fine-tune their games ahead of the beginning of the official games.
Several of the top teams in the state of Texas will head to College Station this weekend for the Aggieland Friendship Cup, a massive tournament that will feature 144 teams from the U12 to the U19 age groups between Saturday and Sunday.
There will be some serious talent in action this week and here are players to follow in the U16 Age Group:
Esther Quintanilla
Esther Quintanilla
Quintanilla switched clubs after the conclusion of the last club season, going from Albion Hurricanes to Challenge SC, where she’s now playing their G08 ECNL team. She’s a goalkeeper with tremendous potential, combining great size and legnth and excellent reflexes between the posts. She’s good at collecting crosses inside the penalty box and also has good reaction speed to deal with close-range finishes and to leave goal and make plays. Quintanilla is solid with her at her feet and also has a strong mental game, always looking calm and confident in goal.
A versatile player, Aras does very well when playing on defense, where she typically lines up for her high school team Clements, or midfield, where she’s mostly used for Albion Hurricanes ECNL G08. She’s very strong in 1-v-1 duels and also wins most of the aerial battles she’s involved with despite not being extremely tall. Aras reads the game very well and that shows when she plays in midfield, where she gets more active. When playing in the middle, she can also display her great quality on the ball, which includes impressive precision with her passing and the ability to finish from distance with power and accuracy.
A set-piece specialist, Coffman should rank pretty high in goals and assists this season with DKSC ECNL G08, as she did last season. She’s a real threat in dead-ball situations, hitting the ball extremely well from basically anywhere on the field. Mostly used as a right back, Coffman is very precise and intelligent with her crosses from corner kicks or free kicks around the penalty box and also very calm and efficient from the penalty kick spot. She also has excellent defensive instincts, which allow her to perform at a very high level when playing center back as well.
A talented and very dynamic player, York can play anywhere on the frontline of her Dallas Texans ECNL G08 team. She’s very skilled on the ball and also extremely athletic, often beating opponents with pace, especially when in transition. York uses both feet well to make passes and finish chances and is very dangerous around and inside the penalty box. The forward also thinks and makes decision very quickly, thriving when she needs to improvise and find creative solutions to play and attacking well the open space on the opponent’s backline. She’s also great at pressuring defenders.
Highlights
A striker with a very complete game and a very aggressive attitude when on the ball, Beck will be the focal point of Solar SC ECNL G08’s offense during the event. She’s a physical center forward, but also has the technical skills and the intelligence to adapt to what the match requires, being capable of hurting teams in a variety of ways. Beck is excellent with back to the goal, be it making turns on defenders or combining with midfielders, but is also very good at creating separation from defenders in tight spaces to finish. Her movement off the ball is always very intelligent and repeatedly places her in spots to finish easy chances.