ECNL Boys Texas: 16s – Standout Outside Backs
The ECNL Boys League hosted a national event from April 19-21 in Round Rock reuniting 90 teams in the 16s and 17s age groups for three days of action. Prep Soccer Texas covered the first two days of the event,…
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Continue ReadingThe ECNL Boys League hosted a national event from April 19-21 in Round Rock reuniting 90 teams in the 16s and 17s age groups for three days of action.
Prep Soccer Texas covered the first two days of the event, following several teams from the Lone Star State as they took the field against opponents from other states and provided daily coverage with photos and a report on the individual standouts of the day.
Now with the event over, we’ll take a little bit of a deeper dive and feature the positional standouts in the 16s division, this time looking at the outside backs:
Santos Nava
Santos Nava
Nava and her Classics Elite team ended the week with a tie and two losses after starting all three matches with only ten players. Used as a right wingback, he was very active for the team and covered a lot of ground, going up and down the field multiple times. Nava got on the ball very often and tried to make things happen offensively, be it with aggressive runs in possession or by connecting intelligent passes. He also tried to bring the ball to the center of the field fairly often, aiming to disorganize the opposing backline with his movement.
Oliver Burdick
Oliver Burdick
Even though his team Albion Hurricanes FC had a difficult week in Round Rock, getting a tie and two losses, Burdick showed some interesting qualities. Used as a right back, he displayed good quality with the ball and an interesting ability to support the team’s offense. Burdick was very smooth on the ball, pulling off some nice moves to beat opponents, and also pushed the ball forward efficiently with his explosiveness. The outside back also displayed good vision to connect passes and covered his space well defensively.
Patrick Cleveland
Patrick Cleveland
Cleveland was one of the standouts in his HTX team that completed its calendar in the event with two wins and one loss. He was very solid at left back for them, combining strong physical and technical skills to make a big impact on both sides of the game. Cleveland used his body extremely well to win duels and also did a very good job with his interceptions and sliding tackles, being very difficult to beat. He also showed a lot of quality when in possession, getting to the attacking half in no time and connecting good passes and crosses with both feet. He spent some time playing up top and was dangerous when making holdup play and creating for his teammates.
Juan Chavez
Juan Chavez
Chavez’s reliable game helped his team SAFC leave the event undefeated with two wins and a tie. A right-footed player used on the left, he was dangerous when he brought the ball inside to create plays and finish. Chavez also did a good job playing closer to the sidelines, displaying great decision-making and interesting resources to beat opponents. The outside back played with good energy on defense and had no shortage of effort to stop plays developing on his side of the field.
Eric Bautista
Eric Bautista
One of FC Dallas Red’s captains, Bautista was a big part of the team that got two wins and a tie in Round Rock. An offensive-minded player, he was at his best when operating in the attacking half, where he used his ability to dribble in tight spaces to beat opponents to get to the end line and send dangerous crosses inside the penalty box. Bautista would at times come inside too, giving his team another chance-creator with his vision and his ability to connect difficult passes. Despite being a bit undersized, he also had success in most of his defensive action, playing aggressively and putting a lot of pressure on opponents when they had the ball.