NXT LVL: Day 3 Standouts, Best XI

The NXT LVL Invitational is bringing together 39 top boys prep and residency programs from 10 states and one from Canada for a weekend of competition in Colonie, N.Y. Each day a new set of teams join the event. Therefore, each day is an opportunity to learn more about how teams stack up and the players who make the difference. Each day PrepSoccer.com will list the top performers capped with a Best XI for the day. <strong>SUNDAY'S BEST XI</strong> <strong>GK: Maks Zebic, Williston Northampton School (Mass.), Jr.:</strong> He played a strong first half in net in what ended up as a scoreless draw. Zebic, a native of Croatia, plays club for GNK Dinamo Zagreb in his home country. <strong>D: Darryl Hage, Berkshire School (Mass.), So.:</strong> A standout club player, he was credited with holding down the back line for Berkshire School. <strong>D: Yeochan Yang, Woodstock Academy (Conn.), So.:</strong> A standout sophomore from South Korea, Yang played an exceptionally solid match at center back in his Woodstock Academy debut. <strong>CDM: Sergio Neto, Northwood School (N.Y.), Sr.:</strong> Neto, from Brazil, was making his first start for Northwood and was dominant on defense. He helped shut down the Northfield Mount Hermon attack. <strong>M: Hayes Benzan, Milton Academy (Mass.), Jr.:</strong> Benzan had a great day defensively and he also created two of Milton's best scoring chances, as well. <strong>M: [player_tooltip player_id='13660' first='Kelvin' last='Da Costa'], Woodstock Academy (Conn.), Sr.:</strong> A native of Mozambique, Da Costa played a strong 90 minutes against Loomis Chafee in a 1-0 win. He helped cut out attacks and maintained possession in pressure. <strong>M: Milton Jones, Berkshire School (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> The North Carolina commit from Liberia did well to create scoring chances for Berkshire. <strong>M: Jared Pena, Western Reserve Academy (Ohio), Jr.:</strong> Pena simply raises the level of play of everyone around him. He scored twice in Western Reserve's tie with Immaculate Heart Central. He is a native of the Philippines and he is being courted by a lot of major college programs. <strong>M: [player_tooltip player_id='233129' first='Jake' last='Thomas'], Hill School (Pa.), Jr.:</strong> Thomas scored in both of Hill School's matches this weekend and was the player who turned heads in both games. He is likely to transfer club teams to be in a more competitive environment soon, but he already is receiving major college attention. He played the 9 on Sunday, and he drives at opponents and gets his teammates into the play. <strong>F: [player_tooltip player_id='148807' first='Francis' last='Bonsu'], Millbrook School (N.Y.), Jr.:</strong> Millbrook School has a history of high-profile attacking players and Bonsu, from Ghana, appears to be the next in line. He held the ball well, made plays and was hard to handle. He scored twice in the 3-3 tie with Northwood U17s. He's being courted by many of the major college programs. The most recent high-profile forward out of Millbrook was Ousseni Bouda, who starred at Stanford and now plays in MLS. <strong>F: Sam Knauf, Northwood School (N.Y.), Sr.:</strong> Knauf scored a pair of goals and his ball movement helped create other chances for Northwood. <strong>OTHERS</strong> <strong>M: [player_tooltip player_id='151489' first='Preston' last='Alessio'], Taft School (Conn.), Jr.:</strong> A leader in the midfield for Taft. He was involved in the attack but also did a lot of the defensive work. <strong>CAM: Albert Aramayo, Bridgton Academy (Maine), Sr.:</strong> He controlled the midfield for Bridgton and was rewarded by scoring one of the team's two goals. <strong>F: Thomas Angelone, Buckingham Browne &amp; Nichols School (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> Angelone was very good in the one-on-one attacks. <strong>D: [player_tooltip player_id='151493' first='Henry' last='Bacon'], Taft School (Conn.), Sr.:</strong> Played as a center back but was able to move forward to win balls. <strong>M: Daniel Banks, Worcester Academy (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> A Division I prospect, Banks competed for 90 minutes and was rewarded by scoring the team's second goal in a 2-2 draw. <strong>GK: Francisco Benbow, Westtown School (Pa.), Jr.:</strong> It's not often a keeper who allowed two goals is highlighted, but in this case, it is very deserved. Benbow commands the back line well and his play kept Westtown in the game in which it ended up tying. <strong>D: Ryan Callahan, Noble and Greenough (Mass.), So.</strong> <strong>D: Kaden Collins, Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), Sr.:</strong> He broke up a lot of plays and showed his athleticism winning balls in the air. <strong>D: Maximilliano Del Castillo, High Mowing School (N.H.), So.:</strong> A native of Puerto Rico, Del Castillo can go forward for the attack and get back to defend. <strong>F/W: Enoch Duodo, Taft School (Conn.), Sr.:</strong> The native of Ghana scored three goals in the first half of Taft's one-sided win. He is very dynamic going forward. <strong>D: Jacob Federowicz, Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.), Sr.</strong> <strong>D: Rhys Ferer, Berkshire School (Mass.), Sr.</strong> <strong>D: Julian Fynn-Thompson, Noble and Greenough (Mass.), So.</strong> <strong>M: Christian Gardner, Avon Old Farms (Conn.), Sr.:</strong> A very active and smart player. Gardner was all over the field. <strong>F: Alejandro Gharzouzi, Taft School (Conn.), Sr.:</strong> A native of Guatemala, Gharzouzi was very good in holding up play to allow Taft to get into the attack. <strong>W: Liam Glasgow, Bridgton Academy (Maine), Sr.:</strong> The Canadian had two assists in the team's Sunday match. He worked hard defensively and pressured very well. <strong>M: Nathan Gritzmacher, Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), Sr.:</strong> Did a good job linking up the play in the middle of the field. He also provided support as a holding midfielder. <strong>W: Jacob Humlenny, Avon Old Farms (Conn.), Jr.:</strong> He does everything well. On Sunday, he won a lot of 50-50 balls and was instrumental in the team's 3-2 win over Bridgton Academy, scoring a goal. <strong>W: [player_tooltip player_id='6492' first='Chase' last='Jackson'], Millbrook School (N.Y.), Sr.:</strong> Scored a goal but was more impressive in creating chances for teammates and he did have an assist. He is getting Division I looks. <strong>F/CAM: Daniel Kankam, Immaculate Heart Central (N.Y.), Sr.:</strong> Very direct, made good runs and was quite dynamic up top. <strong>D: Lucas Kemper-Tapia, Noble and Greenough (Mass.), Jr.</strong> <strong>D: Brian Manon Ulerio, Williston Northampton School (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> The Dominican Republic native was a leader in the back. He has excellent presence and control. <strong>D: Juliano Masella, Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.), So.</strong> <strong>GK: Oliver McNamara, Buckingham Browne &amp; Nichols School (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> McNamara came up with several key saves to preserve the 1-0 win for BB&amp;N. <strong>F: Lorcan Mitchell, Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), Sr.:</strong> He did a solid job holding the ball up and playing as a target player to get Loomis into the attack. <strong>M: Kameron Mohammed, Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.), Jr.:</strong> For the second straight match, he was among the best players on the field. He earned a PK for his team in addition to playing the ball forward. <strong>M: Adam Murray, Buckingham Browne &amp; Nichols School (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> He was a workhorse for BB&amp;N, and he created a lot of chances in the team's 1-0 win. <strong>M: Troy Myers, Woodstock Academy (Conn.), So.:</strong> Played all 90 minutes and was important in both the attacking end as well as maintaining pressure in possession. <strong>F: Timi Omoniwa, Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> He's a pure finisher but also demonstrates a level of physicality that wears down defenses. <strong>M: Josh Partal, Milton Academy (Mass.), Jr.:</strong> He ran the game through the midfield for Milton Academy. He started a lot of Milton's first-half opportunities. <strong>M: Adam Prince, Rivers School (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> The Bowdoin College commit finished a PK and was dangerous going forward. His play led Choate to often foul him. He had a great work rate and was active both on offense and defense. <strong>F: Nadeem Rizk, Bridgton Academy (Maine), Sr.:</strong> He held up the ball well. He also created panic in the defense when he drives at players. <strong>D: Henrique Roig Soares, Hoosac School (N.Y.), Sr.:</strong> Roig Soares was a workhorse on defense. After winning balls, he demonstrated great distribution skills, as well. <strong>F: Anthony Ruscito, Milton Academy (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> He created several opportunities and played well on both sides of the ball. <strong>M: [player_tooltip player_id='44529' first='Leo' last='Salvucci'], Westtown School (Pa.), Sr.:</strong> Controlled the tempo of the game and was Westtown's top field player. <strong>D: Emmanuel Tamen, Worcester Academy (Mass.), Sr.:</strong> He played well for the entire match. <strong>D: Freddie Taylor, Buckingham Browne &amp; Nichols School (Mass.), Jr.: </strong>He dominated in the air. <strong>F: Daniel Toirac, Western Reserve Academy (Ohio), Jr.:</strong> A native of the Dominican Republic, Toirac made his NXT LVL debut Saturday and gave the team quality minutes. He sat out Friday's match due to injury. <strong>D: Jaelen Toole, Hill School (Pa.), Jr.:</strong> One of several talented underclass players at Hill School. Toole helped control the back line. <strong>M/W: Sean Wareru, High Mowing School (N.H.), Sr.:</strong> He started slow, like the team in general, but once he got going, he helped High Mowing control the tempo and dig out of a 2-0 deficit to tie the match. <strong>F/CAM: Joaquin Wladimirro, Immaculate Heart Central (N.Y.), Jr.:</strong> Two days in a row, Wladimirro was the top player for IHC both days and he scored goals in each match. <strong>M: Salvatore Zanzi, Trinity Pawling (N.Y.), Sr.:</strong> For the second straight day, Zanzi scored twice but this time it came in a lopsided defeat.