ECNL-RL Girls St. Louis: Five Texas Defenders to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The ECNL Girls - Regional League will host its second national event of the season this week, in St. Louis, Missouri, just a month after their first showcase, which took place in Richmond, Virginia, in November.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With matches scheduled for the U15, U16, U17 and U18/19 divisions, as many as 180 teams from the entire country will make the trip to St. Louis to play and showcase their skills from Friday to Sunday at the Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex and the World Wide Technology Soccer Park.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2023/12/ecnl-rl-girls-st-louis-five-texas-goalkeepers-to-watch/"><strong>ECNL-RL Girls St. Louis: Five Texas Goalkeepers to Watch</strong></a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The state of Texas will be well-represented, with as many as 27 teams entered to take part in the event. As the week progresses, we'll be presenting some of the most interesting players from the Lone Star State who will be in action this weekend. These are defenders who have big roles in their teams:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='155982' first='Kate' last='Rees']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'3u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"101","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Byron Nelson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Sting Dallas Royal","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Expect Rees to be very active when her team Sting Dallas Royal G08 plays against GTFC Impact, FC Wichita and Libertyville FC 1974. One of the team's captains, she can play at both outside back positions and gets to contribute on both sides of the ball. Rees is very quick when moving upfield without the ball, consistently offering passing outlets to her midfielders. She also does a good job of crossing the ball when she gets to the end line. 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A very physical center back, she's excellent at protecting the penalty box and the area around it with her athleticism. She's also excellent with her decision-making, stepping up when necessary to cover the outside backs and not allowing any space behind her. 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