Copa Rayados: Standout Goalkeepers

One of the most traditional youth soccer tournaments annually held in Texas, the Copa Rayados took place over Thanksgiving weekend in the Houston area.   The 14th edition of the tournament organized by Mexican powerhouse Rayados de Monterrey reunited 358 teams from the U9 to the U19 age groups, representing Texas and other American states, such as Florida, California, Ohio, Colorado, Georgia, Washington, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Maryland, and international sides coming from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico for five days of matches from Wednesday to Sunday in the region of The Woodlands.   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2025/11/copa-rayados-day-1-photos/">Copa Rayados : Day 1 Photos</a></li> </ul>   Prep Soccer Texas was in attendance on Wednesday, when we got to follow the debut of several teams from the Lone Star State that played at Bear Branch Sports Park, and shortlisted a few players in each position that demonstrated great potential to develop into top players for their clubs.   We'll take the week to share our findings, and we begin with the goalkeepers:    Nielsen was the starting goalkeeper for the [program_tooltip program_id='283657' first='Houston' last='Dynamo'] team that finished second in the U14 Supergroup division with a campaign of three wins and three ties - he also played for their U15 team that won their Supergroup. He only conceded three goals in six matches over the tournament and displayed tremendous potential as a shot-stopper. Nielsen is very tall, knows how to use his length to make it hard for opponents to score on him, and is a very technical goalkeeper who rarely gives up a rebound or picks the wrong option to make a stop. He's also an extremely vocal leader who communicates with his teammates the entire time and shows great understanding of the game to give instructions.     Gallegos' [program_tooltip program_id='283612' first='Austin' last='FC'] team advanced all the way to the semifinals of the U14 Supergroup before exiting the tournament with a campaign of three wins, one loss and one tie - the team allowed five goals in as many matches. Recently called up for a US Soccer ID camp, he demonstrated to be an elite shot-stopper who uses his legs particularly well to make saves, especially in 1v1 situations. Gallegos is very technical with his actions, but also noticeably athletic, which allows him to make difficult saves. Another of his main strengths is his quality in possession. It's easy to see that his teammates have plenty of confidence every time they need to give him the ball, and he's always able to keep moving it efficiently even when under pressure, at times even helping set up attacking plays with accurate long passes out of the back.    <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/DRtUnAcgKVj/?img_index=5 </div></figure>    Elizondo-Lopez was is goal for the [program_tooltip program_id='283658' first='Houston' last='Rangers'] team that was eliminated in the silver semifinals of the U15 Supergroup, completing their campaign in the event with one win, two losses and two ties. The Rangers, however, were very solid defensively, conceding only two goals in five matches, and their goalkeeper was one of the reasons for their solidness. Very technical and agile, Elizondo-Lopez is very difficult to score on, using the right techniques to deal with shots and doing a good job of using his legs to make stops in 1v1 plays. The goalkeeper also has solid quality on the ball, distributing it efficiently from the back and finding teammates well upfield with nice long passes.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/11/2J4A0117.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-342098" /></figure>    With Truby in goal, the [program_tooltip program_id='283657' first='Houston' last='Dynamo'] won the tournament's U15 Supergroup with a campaign of five wins and a tie, while conceding six goals. He joined the club recently after standing out for Albion Hurricanes in the ECNL league and is having a great start to his first season with them, showing continued progress in many aspects of his game. Truby is very tall and technical and can cover a large portion of the goal with his wingspan, but is also extremely explosive, standing out in penalty kicks as well. He is becoming more comfortable with his feet, too, and is capable of playing accurate passes out of the back.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/11/2J4A0218_e41630.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-342117" /></figure>

One of the most traditional youth soccer tournaments annually held in Texas, the Copa Rayados took place over Thanksgiving weekend in the Houston area.