I10 Shootout: Standout Goalkeepers
One of the most traditional and competitive Girls high school soccer tournaments in the state of Texas, the I10 Shootout took place last weekend, bringing some of the best teams from the Houston area and other regions of the state…
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Continue ReadingOne of the most traditional and competitive Girls high school soccer tournaments in the state of Texas, the I10 Shootout took place last weekend, bringing some of the best teams from the Houston area and other regions of the state to the Katy ISD, where matches were held from Thursday to Saturday.
As many as 64 teams were on the field during the three days of action and the eight Bracket winners were known on Saturday – A&M Consolidated, Cedar Park, Katy, Clements, Bridgeland, Kingwood, Fort Bend Austin and Canyon Lake.
Prep Soccer got to attend six matches from four different brackets over the weekend, getting a good look at 12 teams that took part in the tournament. This week, we’ll highlight some of the most promising prospects we watched in action, starting with the goalkeepers.
Abbigail Rowse
Abbigail Rowse
Spartan Bracket winners A&M Consolidated were one of the strongest teams in the entire event and they had quality literally everywhere, starting from goal. The Lady Tigers produced clean sheets in two of the team’s three matches and conceded just once, shutting down a strong Seven Lakes team in the semifinals. Awarded as the team’s MVP in the tournament, Rowse was very solid for them between the posts, displaying great calm and reflexes to make stops every time her strong backline was beaten. Rowse thrives on keeping things simple in goal and has also great quality on the ball, playing well with her feet every time she has to.
Kate Oelkers
Kate Oelkers
With Oelkers in goal, Tompkins advanced to the Falcon Bracket final without conceding a single goal. They let one in against Cedar Park and ended up losing in the penalty kick shootout, but the sophomore was still one of the best and most complete goalkeepers I got to watch over the week. She’s tall, agile and always looks very calm and confident between the posts. Oelkers transmits a lot of confidence to the rest of the team and also communicates well with the backline, being one of the team’s captains. She did a very good job helping Tompkins secure a 1-0 win over Summer Creek, making important saves in long-distance shots and crosses and slowing the opponents down in the final minutes of the match.
Madelyn Shipley
Madelyn Shipley
Shipley helped Klein advance all the way to the Cougar bracket final and was one of the most impressive shot-stoppers in the tournament. She was huge for the Lady Kats in their very first match, saving two penalty kicks to place her team into the next round after a 3-3 tie with Cinco Ranch. Shipley is very explosive and has a lot of strength in her lower body, quickly getting to balls. She also plays a big leadership role with the team and plays with the passion (and even a certain attitude) that we often see in elite goalkeepers and coaches love.
A senior, McCluer was very good with Cinco Ranch in their match against Klein, despite having to get the ball into the back of the net three times – on all three occasions she was faced with a forward in a 1v1 situation and made things difficult for her, but couldn’t make the save. She made some important shots in close-distance shots and was also very solid in the air, using her long frame to collect crosses – and was a couple of inches away from saving at least two penalties in the shootout. McCluer has the ability to keep her team in the game with her shot-stopping and also has good quality with her passing and distribution out of the back.
Lilah Schroeder
Lilah Schroeder
Katy rotated their goalkeepers in matches, but had good success with both of them, winning the Tiger Bracket with just two goals conceded. When in goal, Schroeder was extremely solid and reliable, routinely making saves and giving the team a lot of confidence on defense. She’s very agile and reads the game extremely well, stepping forward to take up space from opposing forwards or to get to the ball first in 1v1 situations. She’s very comfortable dealing with low shots and very rarely allows for second-chance opportunities.
Sophia Brackin
Sophia Brackin
Although her team Lumberton didn’t have a lot of success in the Falcon Bracket, Brackin caught our attention for her huge potential. A freshman, she split time between the posts with senior Natalie Bryant and did a good job, displaying good mobility and impressive calm for a player who’s just starting her high school career. Standing at 5’11”, Brackin has good instincts and can become a really strong shot-stopper if she continues to develop her game.