Keepers, defenders flex might in Georgia

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three keepers and a pair of defenders from the state of Georgia are proving to be strong, athletic and technical presences. Four of them are from the class of 2026, while the 2025 graduate is already college committed. This truly is a special group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='21609' first='Campbell' last='Fletcher'], Keeper, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fletcher is a proud member of the Georgia 6A state champs at the Marist School, and she plays club for Concorde Fire's Platinum 2007 team. What you will notice from Fletcher are subtle, nuanced things such as how she positions herself and how she reads play in front of her in order to be in those good positions. She's a great communicator and a strong leader. She communicates well, is encouraging, a confident player and is persistent in her approach. Physically speaking, she works very hard and is applying that hard work as she looks to get even faster and stronger and she is getting even better at getting set in time to react to what happens in her box.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='20975' first='Alexia-Mae' last='Goodman'], Keeper, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pace Academy keeper is a TopHat Gold 2008 player and she is a very decorated player with team and personal awards, accolades and achievements abound. Physically, she is a special talent. She has fast-twitch reaction time that cannot be taught as she is very quick when a ball comes in, either getting long for a save, reacting to a ball that is re-directed in front of her or coming out for a save when an attacker gets in 1v1. She is a brave, athletic and commanding presence between the posts. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='21949' first='Sophie' last='Katz'], Keeper, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Katz is the third of three keepers on this list and is another special talent. She really stands out technically, showing athleticism and prowess when it comes to shot-stopping, taking a cross or distributing. She's very comfortable in her area and with the ball. She communicates well and is growing as a leader, which is something that burns inside her because she is very competitive. She has a very high soccer IQ as she understands the game, sees it develop at a high level and this will serve her well as she looks to play after high school. Katz plays high school at Norcross and plays club with Atlanta Fire.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='21734' first='Jannah' last='Pierce'], Outside Defender, Class of 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pierce is a left back from North Atlanta High from the class of 2025. She is already committed to play at Northeastern University, and she plays club at TopHat for the 2007 GA team. A versatile player because she can play at any level on the field, she boasts great technical and tactical skills. She is a creative player, who uses her skills well, namely in the wide areas to take players on. She delivers accurate balls into the attacking area, and is also a threat to score herself. She reads the game well and thrives when 1v1, using her agility and speed. She has clearly worked on being involved in creating goal-scoring opportunities, but is also doing very well in maintaining her defensive discipline. She works hard and is coachable, and will do anything to help the team, and that means also being a very solid defender, who is physical and strong and clean with tackles. Watch for Pierce to get even stronger and faster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='21923' first='Ryleigh' last='Tomlinson'], Outside Defender, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tomlinson is an outside back from South Forsyth High and plays club with United Futbol Academy (UFA) on the 2008 ECNL team. She is a player who is raising her level as the game speeds up and adjusting to that speed is helping her improve. She is incredibly gifted athletically and technically. She has great physicality and shows great speed on the outside. She moves the ball quickly when pushing forward in the attack. She is a smart player who understands the game at a very high level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->