ECNL Girls Phoenix: Texas Center Backs to Watch

<p>The ECNL Girls League is hosting its fourth national event of the season this weekend in Phoenix, Arizona, with teams from all over the country set to play from Friday to Sunday.</p>   <p>Having the Reach 11 Sports Complex as the venue, 178 teams in the U16, U17 and U19 age groups will come from the entire country to play three matches each and showcase their skills against some of the top talent in the country.</p>   <p>Texas will send 21 teams to the event, with sides from Albion Hurricanes FC, Classics Elite, Dallas Texans, DKSC, FC Dallas, Solar SC, Sting Dallas Black and Sting Dallas Royal representing the Lone Star State in Arizona.</p>   <p>As we preview the event, we'll take a look at some promising prospects who will be on the field. In today's article, our focus is on the center backs:</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Sexton will lead Sting Dallas Royal 09's defensive efforts against Arizona Arsenal, Eclipse Select SC and Beach FC in Phoenix. She's one of the top center backs in the country in her age group and has everything one could want in a defender. Standing at 5'11", she has no trouble winning physical duels, but it doesn't always come down to it with Sexton, who's extremely quick and mobile and uses her high soccer IQ to cut corners and beat opposing attackers to the ball. The center back has the calm and quality on the ball of an attacking midfielder, dribbling under pressure and connecting great passes out of the back.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Ortega will be one of the many great options Solar SC 09 will have at center back for their matches against Beach FC, Arizona Arsenal and Eclipse Select SC. She's extremely solid and reliable on the backline, using her great positioning to cut passing lanes and make interceptions in the center of the field. Ortega also does a good job in the air and is quick to get to the wider positions and cover her teammates. She's calm and efficient on the ball, being able to hit long passes out of the back and to initiate a more methodical buildup with shorter passes.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/IMG_8391.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-263773" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Albion Hurricanes FC G09 vs. Solar SC G09</figcaption></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Jordan and her team Albion Hurricanes FC 08 will be faced with Placer United, Davis Legacy and Mustang SC. She joined the team this season coming from Solar and slotted perfectly in their backline, making of the back three formed by her, [player_tooltip player_id='89586' first='Ryann' last='Dedmon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='87942' first='Mia' last='Hodgson'] one of the team's strengths. Jordan does an excellent job of using her physical tools to dominate the center of the field, stopping combination plays and clearing crosses sent into the penatly box. She also gets to contribute in possession, showing the calm and skills to dribble in tight spaces and using her big frame to shield the ball when she makes runs upfield. </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=kYeYxGFTokA </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Wilbur will be the defensive anchor of Sting Dallas Black 07 in their matches against Slammers FC, LAFC So Cal and Mustang SC. She's a complete center back, who can dominate in the air and on the ground, and mixes up physical and technical tools very efficiently. Wilbur is very good at reading the game and getting to the ball first, but also thrives in closing down space and winning physical duels. Once she gains possession, she's great at quickly scanning the field and igniting quick transition play with accurate long passes out of the back.</p>      <p class="text-gray-700">Fogel will captain the Dallas Texans 07 when they play Eagles SC, Phoenix Rising and Eclipse Select SC in Arizona. She can play anywhere across the backline and also as a defensive midfielder, but is most usually slotted in the heart of their defense. Her excellent positioning always puts her in spots to make interceptions and block shots and she's always ready to make plays off the ball. Fogel is very comfortable and confident on the ball and rarely gives it away or forces long passes out of the back, picking the best options to keep possession.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1m9Kxi36AM </div></figure>

The ECNL Girls League is hosting its fourth national event of the season this weekend in Phoenix, Arizona, with teams from all over the country set to play from Friday to Sunday.