ECNL North Carolina: Texas Outside Backs in Great Form

<p>The ECNL Girls League is set to host its last National Event of the 2024-2025 season this weekend, when teams from all over the country will head to Greensboro, North Carolina.</p>   <p>Set to take place at the Bryan Park Soccer Complex between Friday and Sunday, the ECNL North Carolina will be the 12th national event organized by the league in the season and will reunite 198 teams in the U15, U16 and U17 age groups.</p>   <p>The state of Texas will be represented in the event, with 13 club teams from the Lone Star State making the trip, and we're taking the week leading up to the tournament to highlight some of the top prospects who will be on the field over the weekend. Today, we'll look into the outside backs:</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Robertson plays for the [program_tooltip program_id='283282' first='Challenge' last='SC'] G10 team that will face Florida Elite, Match Fit Academy Shore RL and Maryland United FC over the weekend. Capable of playing anywhere across the backline, she typically appears at left back for them, providing great stability out wide. An extremely athletic player, she stands out defensively, using her big frame to win duels and intercept passes and her pace to track opponents around the penalty box. Robertson also does good work in possession, displaying great vision to connect passes out of the back, and often catches opponents off guard with her diagonal runs into the attacking penalty box to finish chances.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/11/IMG_3317.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-274456" /></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Abshear is part of the Sting Royal RL G09 team that is scheduled to meet San Diego Surf RL, Tampa Bay United and NC Courage while in Greensboro. Normally used as a left back for them, she has a strong presence in the final third, appearing outside the penalty box to make crosses and getting into it to finish chances. Also capable of playing on the right, Abshear is very effective at pushing the ball forward as she does a great job of attacking the space in front of her and is very hard to dispossess. She's also very solid defensively, timing her tackles well and using her body to win duels and shield the ball. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/DJkka1-O2MV/ </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Struyk and her [program_tooltip program_id='283243' first='Albion' last='Hurricanes FC'] G09 team will have United Futbol Academy, Santa Rosa United and Phoenix Rising as their opponents in North Carolina. Capable of playing on both outside back spots, she makes a major offensive impact on her teams with her ability to operate in the final third. Struyk uses her long legs extremely well to cover ground while on the ball and has excellent vision and decision-making in the attacking half, finding good passes and getting the ball to teammates in great spots. She also holds her own defensively, protecting the space behind her back extremely well and thriving in 1v1 duels. </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=2po5uN9_MsY </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Junek will be part of the [program_tooltip program_id='283282' first='Challenge' last='SC'] RL G08 team that will be tested against LVU RUSH RL, South Carolina United and Pleasanton RAGE in this weekend's event. Most commonly used on the left side of the team's backline, she's a constant threat in the attacking half and typically registers a significant number of goals and assists every season because of her ability to bring the ball inside to her preferred right foot to fire shots and make passes. Junek is also an extremely solid defensive player, who reads space very well is always well-positioned to intercept passes. Her quickness also allows her to be very effective when defending 1v1 out wide.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Weiss is one of the standouts in the Sting Black G08 side that will battle NC Courage, FC Alliance and FC Stars Blue in the showcase. A terrific two-way player, she performs with tremendous intensity on the right side of the field and is heavily involved on both sides of the game. Weiss is a force going forward, and her well-rounded game allows her to create problems for opponents in a variety of ways. She is excellent at combining with her teammates out wide and overlapping, but also likes to come inside to make final passes and finish chances. When playing defense, Weiss stands out for her toughness and discipline.</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://youtu.be/iG4IrICWGek </div></figure>

The ECNL Girls League is set to host its last National Event of the 2024-2025 season this weekend, when teams from all over the country will head to Greensboro, North Carolina.