Celebrating a fantastic season for Legends FC

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Legends FC 2007 Girls ECNL team fell short of their goal of winning a national title, and the pain had to have been real and raw. However, the hope is after standing up and dusting themselves off, they took stock in what an amazing season they had. The team reached the national title game, they bonded and remained so and they celebrated one another as player after player committed to Division I schools. Of the eight girls featured here, five are 2025 graduates and all of them will be playing big time college soccer after next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='50061' first='Alexis' last='Coughlin'], Central Defender</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coughlin is used to playing high level soccer as she plays at Santiago High in Corona, obviously plays on one of the best ECNL teams in the country and also was selected in the winter to play for the USYNT U17 team. She also has committed to play at Duke. Coughlin is always an excellent defender and did good work against a really good Beach FC frontline in the finals, and was a huge reason the team reached the national title match. She is incredibly strong defensively, and also has great foot skills and a tremendous passing range.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='77888' first='Jastel' last='David'], Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>David is a very talented outside forward who is showing how special of a player she is. She is a 2026, a rising junior at Santa Margarita High, and really showed out at the playoffs for the U17 team. She's fast and creative, she's unselfish yet has a nose for goal. She has great athleticism and confidence. David is going to be a true riser in California.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kyla Dawn, Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A U15 USYNT call up and a 2026 grad playing up on the 2007 team, Dawn is a tremendously talented wide forward with long strides, good speed and the ability to distribute and score. She sends in a nice ball from the corner if she goes wide, she can put it on her other foot and cut in and go for goal, and she demonstrates a great understanding of combination play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ava De Leest, Keeper </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>De Leest is a Boise State commit, and she had a great playoffs in Virginia. She was great in PK's against Solar SC in the semifinals and overall played a big part in the team's success. She is an active, energetic keeper who shows great athleticism. She's vocal, she leads and she can stop shots. She's very good at leaving her feet and getting to a ball, and goes right as well as she goes left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='77850' first='Grace' last='Hamm'], Outside Defender</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hamm is committed to Indiana and they are getting a fast, tenacious right back who really gets up and down the pitch with energy. She can do it all as she can lock wingers up in 1v1 situations, she tackles well and can dispossess attacking players well, but she also pushes up, is comfortable with the ball and can spearhead an attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='20138' first='Samantha' last='Marella'], Central Defender</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marella is committed to Miami, and watching her play explains why. She plays as a central defender for Legends, and her midfielder experience and ability is very evident. She is so comfortable with the ball at her feet and truly looks like an attacker when she's on the ball. She's fast, she's agile, she's clever and has a rocket shot. She can use either foot and this allows her to stay wide, or to cut in and let a runner underlap. As a defender, she's a stalwart in shutting down the counterattack as she anticipates and steps into passing lanes, knowing where and when to do so. She's incredibly tough minded and is not afraid to be physical, and shows a tremendous tackling ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='27342' first='Zoe' last='Matthews'], Attacking Midfielder</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Matthews is an LSU commit and they are getting quite a player. She has played as a forward quite a lot in the past, but now is a playmaking No. 10 who can do it all. She is incredibly agile and fast, she has good size and can really keep defensive midfielders at bay with he strength and physicality. She can also really strike the ball well, showing a powerful and accurate shot. With goal-scoring ability and the vision to distribute, she is an incredibly important piece of this Legends squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='19686' first='Kayalily' last='Penn'], Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Penn was called up leading into the playoffs and showed her goal-scoring prowess by scoring and making an impact against Solar SC and Penn Fusion. She is a No. 9 who can hold up play well, shows patience and lets play develop and is very good at receiving the ball in the area. She's quite good at switching the ball to her opposite foot and finding a sliver of space to deliver a shot through.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->