Girls Academy Playoffs Day 2 Top Performers

Great day for some footy in Norco, CA on the summer solstice. Winds picked up around mid day which made it difficult for a lot of teams to keep it on the deck but for the most part it was pretty tame. With temperatures mostly in the 70's these young girls battled for a spot in Virginia. Some outstanding performances were turned in by a handful of players. Best of luck to all in their final games in the coming days. Here were the young ladies whom turned in top performances:    Lesser had a great game in the early 8am Kick Off against [program_tooltip program_id='287540' first='South' last='[program_tooltip program_id='283511' first='Valley' last='Surf']']. She is a crafty playmaker who is excellent at weaving through the defense on the dribble. High soccer IQ and motor. Still uncommitted this young player is definitely one to keep an eye on moving forward.     Saah was excellent between the pipes for Tophat she has an incredible athletic profile, excellent reactions and can kick a ball to the moon. She organizes her defense well and is very strong when claiming balls in the air. The Georgia commit has a bright future indeed.     Phifer scored a great goal and was a constant menace for the [program_tooltip program_id='287540' first='South' last='[program_tooltip program_id='283511' first='Valley' last='Surf']'] defense to deal with. The Eastern Kentucky commit has immense potential. She's fast, clean on the ball and works really hard off the ball.     Elite competitor at the outside back position for TopHat. She is certainly not scared of contact. She is an incredible tackler and can turn defense into offense very quickly. Smart and calculated on the ball as she completed a very high percentage of her passes in this game.     Taylor was an absolute force for her HTX side against Columbia. She scored a goal and won a penalty for her side. She is a tall, fast number 9 that many college coaches drool over. She is great with her back to goal and rolling opposition defenders. Sky is the limit for this one.     HTX's #10 pulled the strings in midfield for her side on their way to an impressive win. She had a goal and an assist while I was watching. Great touch and has a plethora of tight footwork moves to set up her next action. She always seemed to have the oppositions goal on her mind as she wants to get forward and penetrate in behind the oppositions defense.     Henderson showed her exceptional turn of pace for her HTX side against Columbia. She scored a goal and got on the end of a ton of through balls for her team. She's going to be a problem for opposition defenses at the next level.     Really impressed with the defenders in this game as Wasatch took on FC United. Talaeai was a rock at center back for her squad on their way to a vital win that puts them in pole position to advance to the next round. She is excellent in the air, finds her midfielders really well with her distribution and has a relentless will to protect her goal. She is headed to Utah Tech and the Trailblazers should be very happy they were able to acquire her services.     Austin and Talaeai combine for an outstanding center back partnership. They understand each other really well. When one steps the other drops they were in constant communication and they were the main reason why their team turned in a clean sheet. Austin is headed to division 1 school Utah Valley in the fall. She is a very efficient passer and calm under pressure.     Top player. Alberts has an extremely bright future indeed. She's tall, fast, two footed and has incredible defensive instincts. She seemed to figure out her opponents as the game went on. Headed to Northwestern in the fall Alberts has the potential to have an incredible collegiate and professional career.     If I was to pick one performance of the day that was the best I'd pick hers. The Tophat outside back is one of the fastest girls I've ever seen. And on top of being fast she is very sharp technically, has an exceptionally high competitive motor, and her end product was very consistent. She put in 4 or 5 outstanding crosses. One of the earliest 2027's to verbally commit to Georgia and I'm sure the staff are ecstatic to have her on campus in a couple of years.     Really strong, powerful center forward who hits the ball incredibly hard. Her post up game is very good and she drew a ton of fouls. Tophat had the ball most of the game and Blanchette defending from the front with her press. Headed to Pace University in New York in the fall of 2026 Blanchette is going to be a problem at the Division 2 level.     The Tophat attacker was fantastic against Oakwood scoring two goals. The BYU commit showed why she is headed to one of the best programs in the country. Her off ball movement, first touch and tight footwork to create space really stood out to me in this game. Very bright future indeed for miss Snow.     It was a tough game for her Florida United squad as they got hammered by the best 2008 team I've seen this year Lamorinda United. Buerger was the lone bright spot for her side as her pace and dribbling caused problems for the Lamorinda defense.     Headed to Auburn in 2026 Mckey is a top talent with professional potential. She's tall, fast and makes great decisions on the ball. Her Lamorinda side are one of, if not the best 2008 teams I've watched this year. They play exceptional possession based soccer. Mckey is the rock at the back that holds the team together.     The midfield fulcrum of this impressive Lamorinda side Rosenberger is the one pulling the strings, switching play and advancing the ball forward for this team. She is exceptional on the half turn and completed the most passes of any player I watched all day. She's a thinker as she finds space offensively and takes away space defensively with exceptional precision.     The Oregon commit was playing like a young woman possessed. She scored goals and created chance after chance offensively. There was no difference in her demeanor when the game was tied or when her side was up 5-0. She always wanted more. Impressive performance from the young star.     Henning-Gerson was an impressive addition off the bench for Lamorinda. She got a great assist in the second half and had a ton of successful dribbles into the final 3rd. She is a relentless presser defensively and direct runner with the ball. Super fast and a very high motor. Still uncommitted as of right now although I don't think that will last much longer if she keeps playing like that.

Great day for some footy in Norco, CA on the summer solstice. Winds picked up around mid day which made it difficult for a lot of teams to keep it on the deck but for the most part it was pretty tame. With temperatures mostly in the 70's these young girls battled for a spot in Virginia. Some outstanding performances were turned in by a handful of players. Best of luck to all in their final games in the coming days. Here were the young ladies whom turned in top performances: