Five 2024 Illinois Girls Primed for Big ECNL Seasons

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023-24 Girls ECNL Season is set to kick off later this month. Here's a look at just a few prospects that are primed for big seasons coming up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CB [player_tooltip player_id='33350' first='Haden' last='Vlcek'] - SLSG 05</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I got a good glimpse of what she can do on both the high school level and ECNL national scene. The Indiana commit checks almost all the boxes for what you want in a center back. Excellent size for her position as she's almost six feet tall. Making it to tough for the offense to beat past her. She also wins balls both in the air and on the ground consistently. But most importantly, she's a WINNER. She not only led Glenwood to a state championship this spring, but she was crucial in leading SLSG to an ECNL national title of their own. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>F Autumn Diduch - Rockford Raptors FC 06</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Diduch has been a goal-scoring machine on the high school level for the Freeport Pretzels. This summer, she was one of a handful of Rockford-area prospects to get an opportunity with the Raptors U23 team. There, Diduch spent the summer competing against college-level talent to further progress her skillset. She does a great job of creating space as a #9 and can beat you with her speed for 1v1 opportunities. It will be exciting to see what else she can do in the ECNL this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>W Eliana Egeland - Eclipse ECNL 06</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A talented winger with a powerful left foot, Egeland is a super dangerous prospect that can create a handful of problems. She showed limitless range as a striker with numerous goals outside the 18 last ECNL season. Egeland also displayed an excellent burst without the ball to drop back defensively and stop fast breaks. And when leading counters, she shows excellent control. Often dazing defenders to make her job 10x easier. The Maryland commit is in for another big ECNL year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>OB/CDM [player_tooltip player_id='145212' first='Izzi' last='Wirtz'] - Chicago</strong> <strong>Inter 06</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wirtz is one of the top uncommitted seniors in Illinois. She's capable of playing both a #6 and outside back. Wirtz excels at reading game around her and turns a defensive stop into a quick offensive counter the other way. The game seems so much faster when she's out on the field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GK [player_tooltip player_id='22142' first='Kendell' last='Williams'] - Eclipse SC 06</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams is a freak athlete who excels both on the soccer field and basketball county. Last fall, she committed to focusing on and playing soccer at the University of Texas. She's an outstanding shot stopper who's even better at commanding her box and making her presence felt. She's even been invited to USYNT youth camps.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->