ECNL Dallas: 16s – Midfielders
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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. Over 220 teams were in action over the three days of the…
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Continue ReadingThe 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.
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 Monday, we were at the Toyota Soccer Center, in Frisco, where we got to watch 16 of the 50 teams of the 16s age group compete.
We’ve already highlighted the players that stood out in the encounters we got to watch 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. These are the midfielders that did a great job on the field:
London Serafim
London Serafim
Serafim was one of the most active offensive players in her Richmond United team that got two wins and a tie, scoring an impressive 13 goals. Playing underneath the team’s striker, she had the freedom to roam on the field and used it very well, finding good spots to get on the ball and make plays. Serafim would drop deep and support the team’s buildup when things weren’t flowing well for them, but was at her best when operating closer to the penalty box. She displayed an interesting ability to beat defenders off the dribble and finish, having some success in some of her attempts.
Evans worked hard in midfield and helped her team Utah Avalanche get a win and two ties over the weekend. Avalanche allowed just two goals in three matches and her hard work in midfield was one of the reasons for their defensive solidness. Evans covered a lot of ground when shielding the team’s backline and was very successful in winning possession for them. The midfielder didn’t circulate around the penalty box very often, but was important in possession with her accurate and intelligent passing.
Ruff had a positive weekend with her Sting Austin team, ending the event with two wins and one loss. She scored three goals and tallied two assists, playing a big role in the team’s offense that produced 11 goals. I got to watch them in their only defeat, a 2-1 loss to Eclipse Select, when she scored one of her goals. It was a challenging match for Sting, as they were trailing for most of the time, but they had in Ruff one of their main offensive forces as she continued to battle from her midfield position. Playing centrally, she tried to beat defenders with her runs and by combining with her teammates. Ruff also displayed good presence inside the penalty box and got on the end of a cross to score.
Krakowski was the midfield engine of her team Eclipe Select which completed their schedule in Dallas with three wins. The box-to-box midfielder had a brilliant weekend, scoring half of her team’s six goals and helping them keep their balance with her hard work in midfield. Krakowski was excellent at winning duels and shielded the team’s backline extremely well, taking part in their effort that resulted in only two goals allowed. She was probably even better offensively, using her ability to make turns and find good passes to initiate plays and her vision and presence inside the penalty box to finish them.
Liverpool FC IA Michigan had a strong weekend in Dallas, walking away with wins in each of their three matches. Much of the team’s success was due to the quality of depth of their midfield pieces, which made of the area perhaps their main strength. Moore was one of the players who stood out for Liverpool there because of her ability to operate with power and precision on both sides of the ball. She worked hard on defense and used her physical tools to win duels and dominate possession. With the ball, she helped the team dictate the tempo of the match with her smart and efficient passing.