Five underclassmen in California making a big impact

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southern California has an abundance of talent. Unceasing talent when it comes to girls soccer, and there are five players in Southern California who are not even seniors yet (four sophomores and a junior) who are impact players for their clubs, and are going to make a big splash this high school season as well. These are certainly players worth watching. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='19164' first='Avarie' last='Gonzalez'], Keeper, Los Alamitos, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a freshman, Gonzalez was the starting keeper on one of the top girls high school teams in the country, playing at Los Alamitos. She is a Cypress native, born and raised, and she plays her club for the Slammers HBK 2008 ECNL team. Gonzalez is a very driven, focused and hard-working player who is dedicated to her team and driven by her goals. When watching her play, you will see a compassionate teammate, but a fearless competitor who leads and motivates. Gonzalez has lightning fast reflexes, shows the ability to cover both corners of her goal, reads crosses very well and is not afraid to come out for a ball in the air or to close out space. She has an impressive resume that includes Southern California ODP invites, first-team All-League, an All-SoCal Soccer selection, scholar athlete awards along with playing on several excellent ECNL teams that have gone deep at Nationals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='19911' first='Mechal' last='Green'], Forward, Palisades Charter, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Green is an invaluable asset to both her high school team and her club team, as she can play all three forward positions, featuring out wide as the No. 11 or No. 7, or playing as the No. 9. She attends Palisades Charter in Los Angeles, playing club for the Beach FC U17 ECNL team. During her freshman year at Palisades, her team was the LA City Western League champs and she was the league's Rookie of the Year and second-team All-League. She is a very fast and aggressive attacking player who looks to compete. Her club coach, Mauricio Ingrassia, sees a player that always comes to play, always performs and is a threat going down the line and in the box. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='20138' first='Samantha' last='Marella'], Central Midfielder, Viewpoint, Class of 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marella is going to be a player to watch in her junior season at Viewpoint. Coming off an excellent season as a team, and individually, this season promises to be a big one. She was first-team All-Conference as a sophomore. She plays for the Eagles SC U16 team and plays with great confidence and acts as a leader for her team. When seeing her play, the thing that stands out is her ability to pick a pass. She can thread a through ball or pick out a long ball and put it right where her teammate wants it. She plays with a relentlessness that you love to see out of a center mid. Marella is athletic and strong to go along with her excellent vision. She times her challenges well and is not afraid to be physical when making a tackle or challenge. She is a leader on the pitch, directing her teammates and leading the way. Marella also has an absolutely excellent work rate. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='63990' first='Finlee' last='Mills'], Forward, Palos Verdes, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mills plays club for Beach FC, playing on the 2007 ECNL team and plays at Palos Verdes High as well. She is a forward who would be described as tenacious. She competes with ferocity, she is savvy, likes to compete and a player who can be relied on to come through when goals are needed. She is a technical player who is also very creative, and completely attack-minded. Beyond her pure talent, she is very coachable and is a team first player. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":73718,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/12/Sloane-Phillips-Temecula-crop-460x303-1671594244.png?w=459" alt="" class="wp-image-73718" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Temecula Valley High</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='20206' first='Sloane' last='Phillips'], Midfielder, Temecula Valley, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Phillips was a standout freshman at Temecula Valley last season, and will be a key player for one of the top girls teams in the state this season. She plays Girls Academy for City SC in San Diego and is a highly rated player in her class. She is quick to the ball, she is strong despite still growing and she shows great vision when picking a pass from the midfield. She is also an excellent free kick taker and demonstrates great vision. She is technical and precise, she makes plays and makes great decisions. She can play with both feet, making her very dangerous. A driven player, Phillips is relentless to go along with how clever and how quickly she plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->