Prospect Alert: Standout Midfielders

Midfielders are known to control the game, from distributing piercing passes, locking down the attackers, and often scoring themselves. These six players have impressed me with their vision, playmaking, technical ability, and composure on the ball. These players are seen as the heart of the team, as they control the game on both defense and attack and dictate the tempo of the game.    Raskin is one of the best all-around midfielders I have seen. She has mastered the 10 with her playmaking, shown amazing footwork and work rates as an 8, and amazing well timed tackles with passing out of pressure as a 6. Bianca is truly a midfield maestro as she uses both feet to score, create a multitude of attacking chances for teammates, and can build up play with ease. I was most impressed with Raskin's composure on the ball. Not once did she rush a pass, dribble into dangerous space, or commit to a questionable challenge. Bianca has shown she is the heart of a midfield, solidifying herself as one of the best in the state.     Camryn is a fantastic center defensive midfielder who is also a playmaker. Her composure on the ball is elite, as she escapes pressure from opposition and dishes out passes to her wingers to instantly be on the attack. Her first touch and technical skills on the ball help to cement her spot in the midfield and certainly plays a key role. Camryn's ability to transition into an 8 in real time is impressive as she goes forward on attack and can create superb build up play that leads to a multitude of attacking chances. Clamp also can find pockets of space to fill in an efficient way to either stop attacks or be an open player for teammates.     Scurlock is versatile with her ability to play as a box to box and forward for her team. Reid always seems to be in open space for her teammates to play her passes. Her technical ability is impressive as she evades pressure and dribbles into space to shoot or pass. Her work rates have impressed me as despite playing centrally, there were numerous highlights of Scurlock pushing herself close to the touchline to be an open teammate and immediately drive at the defense. Scurlock can also win balls back efficiently despite being more attack minded. Reid has great vision when in control of the ball and rarely misses passes or shots.        First thing I noticed from Mark's highlights is his ball control and vision. Multiple through balls placed with pinpoint accuracy and can even play the ball with the outside of his foot with ease. When being pressured by the opposition, he has the ability to escape due to his high quality ball control. Despite being more known for his playmaking, he has shown composure when going into challenges to win the ball back and quickly finding a teammate to play through on goal. Kalada is not known for his goalscoring, Mark can create chances from nothing and is certainly someone to watch.      The first clip from his highlight reel was special, a beautiful first time finesse into the top right corner from the left side of the top of the box. The rest of his highlights showcased his best skills as a deep lying playmaker. Malik has a reputation of winning the ball back and never seems to shy away from putting his body into a tackle. The playmaker aspect comes from his incredible vision. Most of his highlights show his ability to win the ball back and immediately playing through balls or placing them over the top of defenders into a perfect running back for his forwards. Haddak looks to be your guy this season for shrugging off opposition attacks and creating some of his own for his team.       Clamp has amazing vision on attack. He has shown through numerous highlight tapes that he has a high ability to find the pockets of space to play balls into his teammates. Keegan also has a level of composure that can be hard to come by with his ability to dance through defenses to slot it home himself or play his teammate a superb pass to finish the goal themselves. Clamp has also shown to be the set piece specialist as he plays beautiful crosses into the box from corners and free kicks. Despite being a top class playmaker, [player_tooltip player_id='10090' first='Keegan' last='Clamp'] certainly has clamps on defense. His ability to close down the space between him and the attacker and win the ball back with ease is certainly something to watch for.

Midfielders are known to control the game, from distributing piercing passes, locking down the attackers, and often scoring themselves. These six players have impressed me with their vision, playmaking, technical ability, and composure on the ball. These players are seen as the heart of the team, as they control the game on both defense and attack and dictate the tempo of the game.