Dallas Cup Difference-Making Boys Midfielders

One of the largest and most traditional club soccer tournaments of the season, the Dallas Cup was held last week in North Texas, with 450 boys and girls teams competing across five different venues in the area from April 13-20.   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2025/04/dallas-cup-boys-day-2-photos/">Dallas Cup: Boys Day 2 Photos</a></li> </ul>   Prep Soccer Texas was in attendance and on Monday, April 14, we followed a handful of Boys' matches at both the Richland College and the Moneygram Soccer Park. With the tournament now concluded, we're featuring some of the players who made a strong impression in the matches we got to watch. This time, we'll look into the midfielders who made a difference for their teams:    Hunt helped his team [program_tooltip program_id='283624' first='Capital' last='City SC'] U15 MLS Next defeat Canada's Woodbridge Strikers Imodel 2010 5-1. He was very efficient in his role playing as the base of the team's midfield, appearing well on both sides of the ball. Hunt covered a lot of ground defensively and was very active with his tackles and interceptions, controlling the central area of the field. He also had a strong presence in the attacking half, creating space with quick moves and using his vision to find good passes behing the backline.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/2J4A0006.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-285192" /></figure>    Shimozono and his team Hawaii Rush 09B East tied [program_tooltip program_id='283624' first='Capital' last='City SC'] U16 MLS Next 1-1 in a very competitive match. He was very active in his box-to-box role and offered great support to the team's defensive system with his ability to cover ground and win duels. Shimozono also displayed great quality on the ball and did a good job of distributing the ball from the center of the field. The midfielder also displayed impressive intelligence to pick the best moments to make runs off the ball, and he got into good spots on the right side of the team's attack on some occasions, sending good crosses into the penalty box.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/2J4A0113_b5f915.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-285213" /></figure>    Balderas Cortes was highly impactful in his team's [program_tooltip program_id='283624' first='Capital' last='City SC'] U16 MLS Next 1-1 tie with Hawaii Rush 09B East. Playing as a box-to-box midfielder, he articulated most of his team's offensive plays, connecting intelligent passes and making strong runs through the center of the field. Balderas Cortes was at his best when he operated as a deep-lying playmaker, taking a few steps back to get on the ball in space and find teammates in good spots in the final third with accurate long passes. A left-footed player, he also showed great quality in set pieces, sending the ball into the box with tremendous accuracy.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/2J4A0124.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-285216" /></figure>    Diaz was with the [program_tooltip program_id='283311' first='Dallas' last='Texans'] Academy 08B ECNL when they topped Phoenix's FBSL Tuzos Academy 08B Elite 64 3-0. He was the engine of their midfield, getting on the ball a lot and helping bring it into the final third with his intelligent passing and his ability to drive it through the middle. Diaz fluctuated a lot on the left side of the team's attack, at times attacking the space out wide and on other occasions dropping back to organize the team's offense. He also appeared well in the final third to finish chances and had some good shots from outside the box.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/2J4A0162_659e82.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-285224" /></figure>    Soria had a standout performance when his team [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'] U15 MLS Next secured a 3-0 win over Mexico's Global Sporting Club 2010. Playing as a box-to-box midfielder, he controlled the game as almost every play created by his team went through him. A very technical player, the left-footed playmaker was very patient on the ball and dictated his team's rhythm with his intelligent distribution. Soria also made an impact in the final third, making accurate shifts that found teammates open out wide and feeding the attacking players with smart passes.

One of the largest and most traditional club soccer tournaments of the season, the Dallas Cup was held last week in North Texas, with 450 boys and girls teams competing across five different venues in the area from April 13-20.