Sacramento Series: Defenders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sacramento Series continues as we shift from keepers to defenders. With some of the most athletic, dynamic and physical defenders in the state of California, Sacramento is brimming with talent. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Giovanni Brunolli, Oak Ridge, Class of 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brunolli plays club at El Dorado Hills, and the Oak Ridge High product is probably the best athlete of these bunch. He is extremely fast and surprisingly strong, making him a standout center back, and likely will feature as an outside back in college. Brunolli rarely gets beat by attackers, and pretty much tracks down any ball played behind the lines. He is explosive with his first step when traveling forward with the ball. He is very intelligent and a great leader.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Josh Ellison, Folsom, Class of 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ellison attends Folsom High and plays ECNL at San Juan. A strong and willing tackler, he is very strong in the air and seems to just win every ball played into the box. Ellison also has great vision and is a very good distributor of the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='223750' first='Jovan' last='Radovic'], Rocklin, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Radovic is a special player as the Rocklin sophomore plays at Placer United, but has been brought in to try out a couple of times with the LA Galaxy Academy, so observers may not see him in the high school game much longer. He is a dynamic young player already showing great mobility to go with his size. He can play anywhere and despite playing as a center back for Rocklin he could easily play as a No. 6, a No. 10 or even play as a striker. He is strong in the air on set pieces and good with the ball at his feet. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='8581' first='Ruben' last='Ramirez'], Whitney, Class of 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ramirez is truly a modern day center back as he can control the ball excellently and distribute from the back line. He shows great calmness when in possession. When defending, he is a strong tackler and is very good in the air. He also anticipates the game well and communicates terrifically. Ramirez plays at Whitney High and plays club at Davis Legacy. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mario Romero, Davis, Class of 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Romero is another 2007 that plays for Davis Legacy as the Davis High product is a very strong leader and great tackler. He wins the majority of his 1v1's and is also great off the ball in providing support. When the team is moving forward he connects well in the build up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='7790' first='Jake' last='Tyberg'], Whitney, Class of 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tyberg is likely the most complete defender in the Sacramento area as he can literally do it all. The Whitney High and Placer United player is able to use both feet well, and is even able to move up to the No. 6 spot when needed. Tyberg tackles really well and is able to play between the lines with both feet, especially the diagonal switch, with incredible accuracy. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->