Houston area reliable goalkeepers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Texas continues its tradition of developing elite soccer talent on the girls' side, with prospects emerging from every corner of the Lone Star State to display tremendous potential and, at times, even make it to the US Youth National Teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every now and then, we'll have weekly series highlighting a few of those talented players, but as they say, everything is bigger in Texas, so we'll need to do it in part, focusing on one region at a time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We start with the Houston area and these goalkeepers have proved their talent over the years:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["27243"],"_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":"McCluer is one of the captains of her high school team Cinco Ranch and plays club for Albion Hurricanes in their ECNL 06/05 team. She's a very technical goalkeeper, who knows what do to between the posts in every situation and won't give anything up to opposing attackers. McCluer's ability to make stops in short-distance finishes is truly impressive and at times keeps her teams in games. She also handles crosses into the penalty box very well and plays a big leadership role with her teams, communicating and pushing her teammates.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66354077cfe95"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":158897,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/01/IMG_7761.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-158897" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cinco Ranch vs. KleinCinco Ranch vs. Klein</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":"[player_tooltip player_id='27252' first='Sofie' last='Brandsberg-Dahl']","_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":"5'9u0022","_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":"Awty International","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Rise SC","_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":"Brandsberg-Dahl plays in the private high school league with Awty International and is the starting goalkeeper for Rise SC 07 in the GA club league - she also frequently gets to play up with their 06 team. Her positioning is one of her most important skills as it puts the goalkeeper in spots that allow her to make plays. Brandsberg-Dahl is very good in 1v1 situations as she covers the goal very well. She's also very confident in her decisions, wasting no time to leave the goal to deal with passes behind the backline or crosses, which helps her avoid errors by hesitation. Because she spent some years as a field player, the goalkeeper also has good quality with her feet.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66354077d0213"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMfi1dCiKQQ","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMfi1dCiKQQ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["54811"],"_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":"Staton is the starting goalkeeper for The Woodlands varsity high school team and also for HTX 07 in the GA club league. Although not very tall, she's very difficult to beat between the posts because of her excellent reflexes, which make of her a great shot-stopper in close range. Staton also does a very good job in 1v1 situations as she stays low until the last second, forcing opposing attackers to make a decision and reacting to it. She's very comfortable with her feet and also puts the ball back in play with precise throws.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66354077d02a0"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puXPSQeus28","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puXPSQeus28 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- 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":"Hailey Koop","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'6u0022","_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":"Seven Lakes","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"SG1","_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":"Koop is the starting goalkeeper for the Seven Lakes high school team that recently appeared in the State Tournament and she also plays club for SG1 08 in the ECNL Regional League. She has a very good command of the penalty box and never hesitates in coming out to pick loose balls or catch crosses. Koop is also a reliable shot-stopper, who will make big saves in key moments, but also be very secure with them, rarely giving up rebounds or second-chance opportunities. She's a strong penalty kick stopper too.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66354077d0353"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/Hailey_GK2008/status/1734054708191396171","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/Hailey_GK2008/status/1734054708191396171 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["112614"],"_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":"Smithson was the starting goalkeeper of Kingwood Park in her freshman high school season and also plays for Challenge SC 09 in the ECNL. She's very long and has excellent reflexes, a combination that allows her to cover a large area of the goal with great efficiency.  Smithson is very reliable and she doesn't take any chances with difficult shots, preferring to deflect them out of bounds than risking giving up a rebound. The goalkeeper does a very good job when she leaves the goal to punch crosses and also puts the ball back in play efficiently with her punts.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66354077d03e4"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZnctUVxo8s","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZnctUVxo8s </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->