Defenders reign supreme in CA class of 2026

Lockdown defenders, defenders with ability to do more than just defend and hard-working defenders are major plot lines developing in California's class of 2026. This state is loaded with premium defenders from this graduation year, and within a month's time, some of these defenders are going to start committing to colleges.   [player_tooltip player_id='167249' first='Hayden' last='Goldstein'], Central Defender, Class of 2026   Goldstein plays at University City High and plays for the GA 2007 team at City SC. She is a very physically strong center back, who uses that strength to win 1v1 battles. She has a strong leg and she can play diagonal or long balls and switch the field quickly. She has a knack for reading the game in front of her, and this allows her to react quickly to an oncoming attack and also allows her to be disruptive when a player gets in a dangerous area. She is a ball-winner in the air as she thwarts attacks or can contribute offensively. She started as a forward so she knows how to be a threat from her defensive position. She's getting more patient with allowing things to develop in front of her and is also improving with both feet. She's working on speed and agility as she continues to train to be the best player she can.   [player_tooltip player_id='83948' first='Addison' last='Hansen'], Central Defender, Class of 2026   Hansen is at Rosary Academy in Orange County, in Fullerton to be precise, and plays for Slammers FC where she plays ECNL for the 2008 team. She is an incredibly strong center back with great size and excellent speed. She's incredibly strong in the air and is excellent at winning tackles because she reads the game so well. She can help control the game with her passing skills out of the back, helping relieve pressure or assist in the build up. She does not panic when under pressure, and can play the ball long or short. She is an excellent communicator and leader on her back line.   Elyssa Hernandez, Central Defender, Class of 2026   Hernandez plays at Hollister High, which is in Monterey County, and plays club with Santa Clara Sporting, playing for the 08 GA team. She has great leadership qualities in that she is positive and leads by example, leading off the field as well as on which is why she is a team captain. She has great vision and communicates well to let her teammates know what she's seeing. She's dedicated to her team and to her training in order to get better, waking up early and doing the work that nobody sees. She is a composed player with excellent mental toughness. She stands up to the rigors of her position and is unflappable with the pressure gets turned up. Hernandez is also very technical as she has a strong first touch, she moves up and down the field well and is a strong passer. She knows where to be, understands space, defends well in 1v1 situations and tackles very well. She's an incredibly coachable player.   [player_tooltip player_id='112404' first='Halle' last='Ostboe'], Outside Defender, Class of 2026   Ostboe is an outside back, and a Mira Costa High player and plays ECNL for Beach FC's 2008 team. She is an encouraging player, who will be positive with her teammates, but also competes and leaves it all on the pitch, always walking off knowing she did all she could. On the pitch, she is very technical, she has an incredible work rate and has great speed going up and down the touch line. She is a great tackler when defending, she shows great anticipation when going forward and is dangerous on free kicks. She's an improving communicator, she's incredibly coachable, and she's showing improvement on the mental side as well as she is making decisions more quickly. She's great in space and creating opportunities, and is looking to get even better at that.   Ella Pfeiffer, Defender/Forward, Class of 2026   Pfeiffer is a very versatile player who can play as a defender or a forward, doing so at Oaks Christian for school and playing club with LAFC, playing on the 2007 SoCal ECNL team. The 2026 grad is a player that makes adjustments quickly. She played a new position at Oaks Christian, moving to the midfield to help with a new formation and to help the team explore strengths and weaknesses and she did so with aplomb. It helped her understand how to work better with the midfield, so she was a better player when she went back to playing right back, center back or as a wide forward. When on the outside, she is now a better, and more attack-minded wide player. She is a player with Division I aspirations, and will not quit working hard in order to reach that goal, moving to a new club at LAFC and really working on visualizing the game with this new perspective. She is self-motivated, dedicated and does not need to be told to work hard. She is responsible to herself and her teammates, she is very dependable and the team comes first. She's also very resilient and gives 100 percent when on the pitch.   [player_tooltip player_id='58773' first='MacKenzie' last='Stearns'], Defender, Class of 2026   The Poway High and SoCal Blues 2008 ECNL player is a versatile defender, who can play centrally or outside. As an outside back, she can really get up and score goals and create opportunities. When playing centrally, she pushes up on set pieces and is very good about scoring with her head. She has great foot skills as she can also shoot from distance, she can place dangerous balls into the box and create goal-scoring opportunities. She is very strong in the air, winning aerial duels regularly, and she defends 1v1 excellently. Stearns tackles very well, and once she dispossesses a player, she launches an aggressive counter attack. She's great at keeping the defense organized and sees the field in front of her.

Lockdown defenders, defenders with ability to do more than just defend and hard-working defenders are major plot lines developing in California's class of 2026. This state is loaded with premium defenders from this graduation year, and within a month's time, some of these defenders are going to start committing to colleges.