Heavyweight Clash in Open Division NCS Championship

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first ever Open Division NCS Championship the undefeated Bishop O'Dowd Dragons (15-0-0) are going to be taking on the Carondelet Cougars (15-2-3) this Saturday at Bishop O'Dowd High School. These two teams have been on a collision course all season. Both teams are loaded with talent and on paper this will be the best High School matchup in the country this weekend. What makes this matchup so intriguing is the contrast in styles with an elite offense going up against an elite defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dragons are the #8 ranked team in the state and have one of the scariest offenses that you will see on a high school team. Leading the way for the Dragons is star attacker [player_tooltip player_id='111260' first='Abby' last='Forsgren'] who has an incredible 31 goals and 25 assists so far this season playing in only 14 games. An incredible output that puts her in the top 5 in the state for goal contributions. She is partnered in attack with Lamorinda standout [player_tooltip player_id='289538' first='Chloe' last='Keating'] who has 16 goals and 12 assists herself. Keating is headed to UC Davis this fall and is always a very fun watch. On the wings we have two of the best 2010 born players in the country in [player_tooltip player_id='268395' first='Paloma' last='John-Baptiste'] and [player_tooltip player_id='276576' first='Sadie' last='Siedel']. John-Baptiste is a sophomore who plays for the best 2010 club team in the country in MVLA. She has incredible athleticism and is always a threat to score or assist anytime she gets the ball. Siedel is a player that needs no introduction. She is a Youth National Team star who is PrepSoccer's #1 ranked player in California for the class of 2029 (#4 Nationally). The freshmen scored an amazing goal in the Semi-Final against Amador to help her side get to this point. On a team that is loaded with offensive weapons perhaps the most important player for the Dragons is their sophomore center back [player_tooltip player_id='268387' first='Ana' last='Pintard']. Pintard will be tasked with getting her talented teammates the ball in advantageous situations offensively as well as trying to neutralize EBAL Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='211239' first='Elle' last='Sloan']. She is the glue between the lines and most attacks are started with her. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Carondelet Cougars are the 14th ranked team in the state and their biggest strength their defense. It all starts at Goalkeeper with Senior [player_tooltip player_id='350989' first='Addison' last='Bowles'] who is headed to Iona this fall. She is not easy to beat as she has only let in two goals in her past 10 games in one of the most competitive high school leagues in the country (EBAL.) [player_tooltip player_id='272442' first='Madeline' last='Roder'] anchors the backline for this Cougars side. The senior center back was just named the Defensive Player of the Year in EBAL and is headed to USD in August and will have her hands full on Saturday going against Forsgren and Keating. The Cougar's back 4 has two excellent outside backs in Kiana Kenion and Isabelle Shaluata. Kenion is committed to Portland State and has excellent energy up and down the left wing. Shaluata is a big, strong, and fast right back who is excellent in 1 v 1 situations. Currently on international duty with the USYNT Carondelet's defensive midfield maestro [player_tooltip player_id='199883' first='Mercy' last='Karson'] is having a week to remember. She played 90 minutes against Spain on Friday, captained the USYNT against Denmark on Monday, will be playing against England on Thursday halfway across the world in Turkey. She will be getting home on Friday only to play in an NCS Championship on Saturday night. In front of Karson is St Mary's commit [player_tooltip player_id='147311' first='Natalia' last='Brunal'] who plays attacking midfield and will be vital to the Cougars success on Saturday. If she can get the ball in front of the Dragon's back line with time and space she has an excellent striker to feed the ball to and can score from range herself. That striker is [player_tooltip player_id='211239' first='Elle' last='Sloan'] who is headed to Houston this summer. Just like what Pintard is for the Dragons in this matchup I think that's what Sloan is for the Cougars. If the game goes like I think it's going to go Sloan will have to be relentless in her press especially trying to restrict Pintard's distribution from the back. She is going to have limited chances coming her way and will need to be lethal in front of goal. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All in all this matchup has everything. Between the teams there are 7 division 1 college commitments and 2 Youth National Team players which is unheard of in a High School game these days. I can't wait to watch this clash of the titans. If you are there please come say hi. Let the best team win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->