ECNL Dallas: 17s – Goalkeepers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top teams in the ECNL Girls League in the country were in Dallas from February 17-19, where the league held its sixth National event of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over 220 teams were in action over the three days of the event and Prep Soccer was in attendance, following several matches a day and taking a lot at some of the top-level prospects in the country. On Saturday, we were at the Toyota Soccer Center, in Frisco, where we got to watch 16 of the 52 teams of the 17s age group compete.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2024/02/ecnl-dallas-17s-day-1-photos/"><strong>ECNL Dallas: 17s – Day 1 Photos</strong></a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've already highlighted <a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2024/02/ecnl-dallas-17s-day-1-standouts">the players that stood out in the encounters we got to watch</a> and now we'll expand that a little bit and list more prospects that left a strong impression, looking at one position at a time. We start with the goalkeepers:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["28204"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Willems was one of the main reasons why the match between her Seattle United team and Sting Austin ended in a scoreless tie. She had to make a handful of difficult saves during the match and responded well, giving a lot of confidence to her team. A tall goalkeeper, she uses her length well between the posts, getting to shots that are well outside her body. Despite her size, Willems is also very agile and got to the floor in no time when she had to make diving saves.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65d62979683f8"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1758918223750176957","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1758918223750176957 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["33425"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Haesche was under a lot of pressure when her World Class FC team faced Solar SC, but managed to limit the damage caused by their strong opponents, allowing only two goals in a 2-1 loss and not being to blame in any of them - in fact, she made a magnificent save off of a freek kick before the game-winning goal, but was unlucky that the ball hit the post and found a Solar player ready to score. The goalkeeper had great command of the penalty box, getting off her line to catch and punch crosses, and also knew when to come off her line to make stops. Haesche displayed very good reflexes and great technique, having answers for almost everything her opponents tried to beat her.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65d6297968467"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1758933401657090089","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1758933401657090089 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["23507"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The top goalkeeper in Missouri in her age group according to our rankings, Hale led SLSG Navy to a 2-0 win over Challenge SC in the first of three clean sheets she got over the weekend. She worked very smartly between the posts, consistently making the right calls and leaving no room for errors with her high level of attention. Challenge tried to score by getting through balls in behind SLSG's backline, but Hale was always there, reading the game extremely well and stepping up to deny them the goalscoring opportunity. The goalkeeper also worked well in possession, contributing to her team's playing style with accurate passes out of the back.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65d62979684c2"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1758983267217248488/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1758983267217248488/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["116264"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Kubistek and her Pittsburgh Riverhounds team had a difficult match against Sporting Blue Valley, going down 3-0, but the goalkeeper displayed interesting skills in the match, avoiding an ever more enlarged scoreline. A very tall goalie, covered the goal area well and also displayed good reflexes to reach close-range finishes. Because of her size and great timing, Kubistek also dealt well with most crosses sent into her team's penalty box. She was very good at putting the ball back in play too, with precise throws and long punts that found teammates way upfield.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65d6297968518"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":163446,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/02/IMG_1913.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-163446" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. Sporting Blue Valley</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- 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":"Zoe Hagan","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"100","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Midwest United","_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":"Hagan also conceded three times when I watched her play with Midwest United FC, in a 3-0 loss to Match Fit Academy, but she still walked out of the field leaving a positive impression. The team's backline struggled to deal with crosses and that placed her in a difficult spot as two goals were scored off of close-range headers. When the crosses were sent closer to the goal area, Hagan did a good job of catching or punching the ball, despite not being very tall. She also made good saves in shots from inside and outside the penalty box, avoiding a bigger upset.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65d62979685c4"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":163422,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/02/IMG_1811.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-163422" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Match Fit Academy vs. Midwest United FC</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->