Houston Area HS Boys Team to Watch: The Woodlands

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school soccer season is back in Texas as since the middle of December, teams from the Lone Star State have been active in scrimmages and non-district matches as they prepare for the start of the matches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a lot of fine-tuning to be done between now and the start of January, when district matches will begin, and we at Prep Soccer Texas are excited to follow another season of play and report on the top teams and individual standouts in our state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we prepare for the start of what should be another exciting four months of high school soccer in Texas, we'll feature some teams from the Houston area that could be poised for strong seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Woodlands</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Woodlands Highlanders from The Woodlands had a strong season in 2024, going undefeated in District 13 and advancing all the way to the Regional Semifinals in the playoffs to end their campaign with 22 wins, two losses and three ties. The Highlanders lost several key players to graduation, such as defenders Aaron Keating, Alexander Angelkov and Rodrigo Checa, midfielders Luke Woodland and Henrique Caputo and forwards Orlando Diaz and Matyas Williams. Their core, however, remains strong, with junior goalkeeper Ryan Mulbrecht, senior defenders Harry Coombs and Ignacio Lopez, junior defender [player_tooltip player_id='16572' first='Nicolas' last='Suarez'], senior midfielder Finn MacLauchlan, senior forward Patryk Jankowski and sophomore forward Emilio Balderas-Berg.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Players</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Ryan Mulbrecht","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"100","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"The Woodlands","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"HTX","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675a2a1b0950d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Despite strong competition, Mulbrecht earned the starting spot between the posts for The Woodlands during his sophomore season and came up big for the team during their campaign. A strong and explosive goalkeeper, Mulbrecht is an amazing shot-stopper, who's capable of making impressive saves in 1v1 situations. He also has great command of the penalty box and navigates it extremely well to catch crosses. The junior is also excellent at stopping penalty kicks, reading opponents with great efficiency and exploding for the ball with tremendous power.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><a href="https://sportsrecruits.com/athlete/ryan_mulbrecht?video=4073675">Highlights</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":271067,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/IMG_1348.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-271067" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Albion Hurricanes FC B07 vs. HTX B07</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Harry Coombs","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"101","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"The Woodlands","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"HTX","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675a2a1b096d6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Capable of playing as a center back or a right back, Coombs is a key piece in the Highlanders' defensive system. He's a complete defender, who uses his size and strength to dominate in the air and to win duels, but is also very mobile and intelligent, always stepping into the right spots to cover his teammates. Coombs is also comfortable on the ball and, at times, manages to ignite quick transition plays right after he makes a stop with smart passes. When playing on the right, he displays great stamina to run the field up and down and appears in great spots in the final third, sending dangerous crosses into the penalty box.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OgxJ1BUlMk","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <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=2OgxJ1BUlMk </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Patryk Jankowski","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"103","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"The Woodlands","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"HTX","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675a2a1b09865"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The focal point of the Highlanders' offense, Jankowski is a dynamic and well-rounded forward, who can offer whatever his team needs up top. A six-footer, he's physical enough to play with his back to the goal and has a strong presence inside the penalty box. The forward is also extremely mobile and smart with his positioning, always looking for spaces between defenders to make runs without the ball, and offering passing options to his teammates. One of Jankowski's most valuable skills is his ability to finish with power and precision in any situation - he can score with his right or his left foot and is capable of sending the ball into the back of the net even from long distance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CzD7PI30sM","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <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=2CzD7PI30sM </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->