Houston Area HS Girls Team to Watch: Stratford

<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>   <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>   <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>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Stratford</h2>   <p>The Stratford Spartans from Houston got close to appearing in the State Tournament last season as, after finishing at the top of District 17 with an undefeated campaign of 13 wins and one tie, they survived two rounds in the playoffs before falling in the Regional Quarterfinals and ending their campaign with 20 wins, two ties and four losses. The Spartans didn't have too many seniors in their squad and among the graduated players, midfielder Lizzie Emerson will certainly be the most felt absence. Stratford will be able to return most of its starting lineup, with senior Olivia Harbison in goal, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='112734' first='Natalie' last='Goodwin'], [player_tooltip player_id='148753' first='Zoe' last='Lawless'] and [player_tooltip player_id='148466' first='Audrey' last='Brendel'] and seniors Hannah Ryan and Whitney Bui in the backline, seniors [player_tooltip player_id='54870' first='Ryann' last='Weber'] and Mary Paul and junior [player_tooltip player_id='155725' first='Sara' last='Benton'] in midfield and senior [player_tooltip player_id='108733' first='Allison' last='Goodwin'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='140588' first='Sydney' last='Valentine'] leading their offense.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Players</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">A tough-minded and skilled player, Brendel brings a lot to the field for Stratford. Because of her quality, determination and intelligence, she can play anywhere across the backline and also in midfield at a very high level. A tenacious defensive player, she is very strong with her actions and can dominate even the most physical forwards when playing in central defense. Because of her mobility, Brendel is also very efficient when she has to cover her teammates in wider positions. The sophomore also has more than enough quality to impact the game in possession, displaying great vision and calm to connect great passes out of the back and help her team move the ball when playing in midfield.</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=peFJKd55-sM </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Weber is another player capable of performing multiple roles with great efficiency - she typically plays as a central midfielder with her club team, but is used in a more advanced role with Stratford, either as an attacking midfielder or a forward. Among her main skills is her intelligent movement off the ball, which allows her to find space in the final third to operate. Weber is a player who contributes multiple goals and assists every season, combining well with her teammates and showing impressive technical resources to beat defenders and make plays in the final third. She's also a lethal finisher, who's calm and composed inside the penalty box and can shoot the ball with power and precision from long distance.</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=rUUdjWXDz_4 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">A dangerous wide player, Goodwin adds a different dimension to Stratford's offense with her runs on and off the ball. She can play on either side of their attack, but is probably at her best on the right, playing very aggressively and going at defenders to create chances. Goodwin controls the ball extremely well and is capable of last-second moves that get defenders out of shape. She's also very dangerous when bringing the ball inside and is ice-gold when finishing inside the penalty box. Goodwin is a hard-worker too, who does a great job of putting pressure on opposing defenders.</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.