ECNL National Finals Texas Team Preview: Sting Black G08

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The ECNL League 2024-2025 season is set to come to an end this week, with the National Finals taking place in Richmond, Virginia, from Friday to Monday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With only eight teams standing in the U17, U16, U15, U14 and U13 divisions, the tournament will be held at the West Creek Complex and the VACU Fields at Striker Park and will determine the league's national champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The state of Texas will be represented in four of the five age groups in Virginia and we'll now preview some of those teams and go over how they got there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sting Black G08</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Title contenders in the U17 division, Sting Black from the Dallas area dominated the Texas Conference, comfortably making it to the top of the standings with an undefeated campaign of 13 wins and two draws, which saw them score 40 goals and concede five.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sting continued to be unstoppable in the ECNL Playoffs and earned their spot in the Finals after they topped Portland Thorns 3-0, Beach FC 3-0, Concorde Fire Premier 5-0 and Bethesda SC 3-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/DLlAMQtBmyU/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"instagram","responsive":true} --> <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/DLlAMQtBmyU/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team will face Washington's XF Academy on Friday at 8:00 AM local time in the quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Roster</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='171803' first='Kenlea' last='Swadener'] and [player_tooltip player_id='285379' first='Bailee' last='Sisson'] are Sting's goalkeepers. Between [player_tooltip player_id='112740' first='Tyller' last='Grimes'], [player_tooltip player_id='27192' first='Reese' last='Liner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='87931' first='Gracie' last='Black'], the team has reliable center backs, who each bring different things to the table. The excellent [player_tooltip player_id='89659' first='Lily' last='Weiss'] and [player_tooltip player_id='27098' first='Mikaela' last='Valentine'] are the team's starting outside backs, with [player_tooltip player_id='142075' first='Elle' last='Durham'] providing depth. Midfield is an area of strength for Sting as [player_tooltip player_id='27102' first='Mimi' last='Flanagan'], [player_tooltip player_id='26368' first='Abigail' last='Graul'], [player_tooltip player_id='93359' first='Camden' last='Henard'], [player_tooltip player_id='112600' first='Jaylynn' last='Traver'] [player_tooltip player_id='26610' first='Cassidy' last='Horton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='26879' first='Kate' last='McCallister'] can all make a difference on both sides of the ball. The team also has a lot of firepower up top with [player_tooltip player_id='26638' first='Danielle' last='Chaump'], [player_tooltip player_id='26972' first='Leah' last='Simpson'], [player_tooltip player_id='26941' first='Kyleigh' last='Ward'] and mid-season acquisition [player_tooltip player_id='112752' first='Ella' last='York'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["27192"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6879168a077e8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Liner is one of the pillars of Sting's backline, doing an excellent job of controlling the penalty box and dominating opponents. A six-footer, the center back is great at clearing crosses, but also does very well when she has to defend in space, showing intelligence to push opponents back or wide and patience to wait for the right moment to tackle them. The defender also thrives with her positioning, which allows her to consistently intercept passes in the center of the field and to step up and cover teammates when needed. Liner also offers significant offensive contributions to the team, appearing in the attacking penalty box to finish chances in set pieces and doing excellent work with his passing, often finding teammates in good spots in the final third with long balls.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ReeseLiner/status/1940802744694329397","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ReeseLiner/status/1940802744694329397 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["89659"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6879168a0785f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Sting's starting right back Weiss brings a lot of intensity every time she's on the field. She can run for days and uses that energy to go up and down the field the entire time, getting heavily involved in the game on both sides of the ball. Weiss has a lot of quality going forward, as she knows how to attack the space out wide, frequently overlapping and engaging in give-and-gos to get to the end line and cross the ball, but can also be a threat pushing through the middle with her vision and finishing skills. The right back is also very committed defensively, playing with tremendous energy and occupying the right spots to stop opponents that get into her zone. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LilyWeiss23/status/1940422727581761775","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LilyWeiss23/status/1940422727581761775 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["112600"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6879168a078b3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Traver saw her stock rise throughout the season and became a key piece for Sting in midfield. She was in excellent form during the playoffs, scoring three goals and helping her team make it to the Finals. A dynamic and creative attacking midfielder, she uses her excellent movement in the final third and her impressive vision to help her team create chances and get teammates in great spots to score. Traver also likes to step into the penalty box to finish chances and she does it very well, making intelligent runs and appearing in great spots to score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/JaylynnTraver/status/1939549063416004740","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JaylynnTraver/status/1939549063416004740 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["26638"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6879168a078ff"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Chaump is, in many ways, the focal point of Sting's offense and she steps up to the task and delivers goals and assists at a high rate. Displaying a great combination of physical and technical skills, she's very difficult to stop and can be used in different roles in the front line. Chaump plays more frequently as a right winger, successfully using her pace and dribbling skills to beat defenders and get into dangerous spots. She's very direct and aggressive on the ball and rarely hesitates or seems out of ideas in the final third. Chaump has excellent vision and often sets teammates up to score in easy tap-ins, but she's also an excellent finisher herself, which allows her to thrive when used as a center forward too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/DChaump08/status/1930079814121132380","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/DChaump08/status/1930079814121132380 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["26972"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6879168a0794d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">An intelligent and creative attacking player, Simpson can fill many different roles up top for Sting. Very quick and intelligent with her movement in the final third, she can perform at a high level as a striker, making runs in behind the backline to beat physical defenders for the ball. Simpson can also step up a little bit and play as a second forward, using her vision and quality on the ball to connect with the striker in quick combination plays or feed the wingers out wide. Her best spot, however, is probably left winger, as there she can get isolated to beat opponents in 1v1 plays and also bring the ball inside to her preferred right foot to finish chances from outside the box.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->