ECNL Girls Playoffs: Five Texas Outside Backs to Watch

<p>After nine months of Conference Play, the ECNL Girls League is set to enter crunch time, with the playoffs taking place this week, from June 22-28, in Seattle, Washington, for the U13-19 age groups.</p>   <p>As many as 350 teams from the entire country will play at the 60 Acres Soccer Park, in Redmond, with the goal of securing a spot in the ECNL Girls Finals, which will be held in Richmond, Virginia, in July.</p>   <p>Among these teams, there are several sides from Texas, who will try and take the Lone Star State to the Finals. These outside backs from Texas could be among the best in the event this week:</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Pepper Sockwell is a part of the FC Dallas 09 team that got a second-place finish in the Texas Conference with 13 wins, one loss and a tie and qualified for the Champions League playoffs. She's mostly used on the right, but can play on the left too or other further up in the field. Pepper Sockwell is an offensive-minded outside back who likes to push forward and offer a passing option to her teammates. She's very good at dribbling the ball forward in tight spaces, but also connects well with her teammates in combination plays and give-and-gos.</p>    <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=uzbyfibMl_g </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Maldonado and her Challenge SC 09 team finished ninth in the Texas Conference with a campaign of six wins, six losses and three ties and will compete in the North American Cup this week in Seattle. She's a technically sound player, who has an excellent all-around game and has the skills to play anywhere on the field. Maldonado, who plays a more advanced role with her high school team Summer Creek, is typically deployed at left back with Challenge and gives them an interesting attacking option out wide. She also works very hard on defense and does a good job in her zone of the field.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">A class of 2027 prospect playing up with Albion Hurricanes FC 08, Goodwin helped the team secure an eighth-place finish in the Texas Conference with six wins, four losses and three ties, which sent them to the North American Cup. She has a good combination of physical and technical tools and knows how to play the right back position in different ways. I've watched her play in a back four and she was very solid defensively, using her frame, positioning and reading of the game to make stops. When used as a right wingback playing in front of a back three, Goodwin takes advantage of the freedom allowed by the system to push forward and on times she'll appear inside the penalty box to finish chances.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/05/IMG_4885.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-173268" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Albion Hurricanes FC G08 vs. Sting Austin G08</figcaption></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Hewitt's Sting Dallas Black 07 team qualified for the Champions League with a campaign of eight wins, five losses and two ties that had them in sixth place in the Texas Conference. She can play anywhere across the backline, but is mostly used on the outside back spots. Hewitt is very strong with her defensive actions and does a very good job of winning physical duels around the penalty box or higher up on the field. Her defense in transition is also very effective as she's very good at reading opponents and blocking their passing lanes. Offensively, Hewitt is very intelligent in connecting with her teammates and getting the ball forward through combination plays.</p>      <p class="text-gray-700">Andrews and her Solar SC 06/05 team went undefeated in the Texas Conference with 13 wins and two ties and will appear in the Champions League as the top team in the region. She can play as a right back or on the right side of a back three and is incredibly efficient defensively, playing with great energy and timing and weighing her defensive actions with tremendous precision. Andrews is also very athletic, which gives her a considerable edge in 1v1 situations. She also has an effective offensive game, picking the right moments to push forward, helping to stretch the field with her wide runs and making good decisions with her passing.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/EmersonAndrews8/status/1795199555257975074 </div></figure>

After nine months of Conference Play, the ECNL Girls League is set to enter crunch time, with the playoffs taking place this week, from June 22-28, in Seattle, Washington, for the U13-19 age groups.