Five from Southern California showing out

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These five players who are all from Southern California showed out last season for their clubs and are looking to continue making an impact when the new season begins in August. These five are very talented on the ball and bring a variety of skills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='58460' first='Brady' last='Campbell'], Outside Defender, Slammers FC, Class of 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":200420,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/IMG_6199.jpg?w=824" alt="" class="wp-image-200420" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: ECNL</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Campbell has the ability to play as an outside back on either side, because she is excellent with either foot. The right side is her usual side, and when she's on that side, she shows that she likes to cut in and drag across the face of goal to find a shot. From the left side, she tends to go with more straight line speed and beat the outside defender, either getting off a shot or playing a ball on the floor for a teammate. From either side she can send in an excellent cross. She's very fast, clever and agile. She's also a fierce defender who plays hard, plays with a lot of pride and can lock up a wide forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='19148' first='Ava' last='De Filippo'], Central Defender, Slammers HBK, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>De Filippo is a talented defender with great body control and spacial awareness. She can dispossess at full speed, she does not get bullied off the ball when moving towards her goal with an attacker and she understands where she is and what the situation calls for. She has great recovery speed to go with her physical ability, and she shows great foot skills as well as she can possess, she can make people miss and carry the ball down the pitch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Samantha Mathis, Forward, Eagles SC, Class of 2027</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mathis has great explosion which allows her to go from stop to start quickly, allowing her to beat defenders when she makes a run. She is very good with leverage, and using her inside shoulder to keep defenders from dispossessing her when she's got her sights on goal. She's incredibly physical as she uses her body well against defenders, and she has the athleticism to keep the ball while battling with them. She's very dangerous on the left side and has the ability to cut in and take people on, or she can operate centrally and either go head on at center backs or act as a target striker and facilitate play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='146268' first='Aiselyn' last='Sia'], Outside Defender, Legends FC, Class of 2027</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sia is an excellent left back and she is incredibly multi-functional. She can play as physical as a center back, and will tuck in and help support her fellow defenders as she locks down attacking players. She is lockdown in 1v1 situations, and on the other end of the spectrum she is hard to contain when moving up the pitch. She's excellent with the ball at her feet, she is fluid in her movements and she has the ball control and patience to beat a defender. She also plays a very strong, left-footed, ball into the box. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='176683' first='Taylor' last='Strickland'], Midfielder, SoCal Reds FC, Class of 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strickland's combination play and ball movement are excellent. She has a fantastic first touch and does not waste time with needless movements, instead one-timing a ball after she receives a pass and the defense is moving in the other direction. She is excellent at floating in her midfield spot as she sees space and occupies it, whether she is making herself available or she sees an opportunity to push up. She has the ability to carry on, though, if given acres of space as she can beat defenders off the dribble, she can shoot with accuracy and she makes incredibly well-timed runs like a forward would. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->