Showcase Preview: Loudoun, VA U17-U19s To Watch

Soccer in the Mid-Atlantic has taken a major hit this winter. Showcase season is roughly 4 months long around here, and one of those has been spent frozen in a pile of snow and ice. More than four tournaments were cancelled recently, making the few that can get off the ground that much more important. The next one up is in Loudoun, VA, where one of the best clubs in the nation, VDA, is sending a few of their teams, along with various other ECNL and GA teams. Mixed into that are some lower-level NAL and EDP teams with some fantastic players that either haven't made the alphabet jump YET, or need some exposure help to get them on the radar. Contrary to what many people will tell you, you do not HAVE to play ECNL or MLS Next to play in college; there are some teams that have stayed in their local range and been smart enough to play the right tournaments, get some exposure, and have players signed. I know of one EDP team in Northern MD that has had 3 players commit to colleges recently. That being said, here's a preview of some teams and players to watch in the Loudoun area Feb 27-Mar 1.   U19 Bracket:   VDA 2008 ECNL: Maya Engel is a 2027 on this team. She's a beast on defense, but already committed to Notre Dame. Kyndal Shuler is another player with US ID Camp experience.   VDA 2009 ECNL: Taylor Morrell is the superstar here, 2027 committed to Penn St., Daphne Van Der Weide is no slouch herself, committed to Duke and also having USWNT experience.   A3 Oxford EDP:    Izzy is a solid mid/forward that can play the 6 through 2 anytime you need her. She's got good height and size, she's not afraid to play physical, and she knows where to go and when to go there, so she finds ways to be in the play all the time. She's got a great soccer IQ, and good vision. More of a play-maker than a shooter, but she will score if given the chance. She's a natural leader on the pitch, and does a good job helping her players get in the right spots, or seeing a play develop. Because you are projecting her from the EDP level, there are some things like pace of play you won't know until she sees it, but she's got the right skills for a solid college contributor.    Liverpool Central MD U19 NAL: [player_tooltip player_id='349811' first='Olivia' last='Strain'], GK is a player to keep an eye on. She's playing the U19 division as a 15 year old and is holding her own. She's been playing up for 3 years, so this isn't a new thing to her, but with the age restructure next year, may look to return to her own age group at a tougher (alphabet) level.   U17 Bracket:   VDA ECNL 2010: Another loaded roster with star players such as Selin Pehlivan, who is on Turkey's National team, Ari Enderes who is on the Philippines National team, or Sara Quinteros from the El Salvador National Team. Not to mention Ryder White from the USYNT.   Loudon Soccer Club 09 GA:    Ishvica is what you want if you're looking for offense. She can do it all. Primarily from the 10, her ball control and 1v1 work are fantastic, as well as her through balls to lead other forwards when the defense collapses. She can and will shoot the ball, with both feet, and makes good crosses from the right side. When I saw her she primarily drove the right side, so I didn't get to see any left crosses, but the crosses from the right side were on target with nice touch. She carries the ball extremely well and has the confidence that she is going to win any 1v1 situation you give her.     Carina is an interesting player. She's on the shorter side at 5'2, which doesn't matter too much in soccer, but the interesting part is that one of her best skills is heading the ball, which is something you don't often see in the shorter ones. She's got good touch for offensive headers, and is often put in to set pieces for corners, despite being a defender primarily. She can play all over the field, but is primarily a defensive focused player and plays 2-6 easily. What makes her make my watch list is that she carries the ball really well for a defender, and can play CB, which is the number one sought after player that I've been asked about, a ball-carrying CB.    Northern VA Alliance 09 GA:    Maddie caught my eye when I was in my searching for defenders era. After watching a few games earlier this season with dreadful offense I went through a period where I was determined to find some decent defenders out there. I've always been a more conservative, defensive style coach, and I'll say it, I didn't appreciate outside backs enough. You don't know what you have until it's gone though, and watching Maddie play, who does a good job of reading plays and stealing passes directed at the wide wingers. She also won't hesitate in bringing the ball up the field to chip in on offense. As a much smaller player (5'0) the open field where she can use her speed and play the corners and angles will suit her well. If she gets into a position where she has to body and play the corner it could be trouble against some of the bigger, faster forwards, but she uses her lines and angles well to cut down on that issue as much as she can.     Eliana is an interesting player in that she's kind of a pure two way player. Many players are one or the other, and trying to force them the other way will give you less than ideal production. I think Eliana would have similar luck on either end. She uses her defensive skills to hound opposing forwards on the build out, creating turnovers and chances. As much as ball carrying defenders are in demand these days, Eliana has a good skill set, being able to shift from CB to F is a tough ask, most players will flop at one of those, switching mentalities from offense to defense is a hard ask, but finding that player that is still playing offense when defending, as soon as you take the ball away you're an offensive player no matter where you are on the field, or that forward that will attack and create turnovers in the offensive end. Those are players that can change a game.    Mia Chang is another player on this NVA team I have my eyes on, she can play both a technical and a physical style, has a strong leg and wins 1v1s in the middle of the field, a skill set that many teams lack.   That's the highlights for the players I'm following next weekend for the U17 and U19 brackets. I'll have another post with the U15 and U16 targets soon. If you're in the area, now you know some good games to watch and players to see.

Soccer in the Mid-Atlantic has taken a major hit this winter. Showcase season is roughly 4 months long around here, and one of those has been spent frozen in a pile of snow and ice. More than four tournaments were cancelled recently, making the few that can get off the ground that much more important. The next one up is in Loudoun, VA, where one of the best clubs in the nation, VDA, is sending a few of their teams, along with various other ECNL and GA teams. Mixed into that are some lower-level NAL and EDP teams with some fantastic players that either haven't made the alphabet jump YET, or need some exposure help to get them on the radar. Contrary to what many people will tell you, you do not HAVE to play ECNL or MLS Next to play in college; there are some teams that have stayed in their local range and been smart enough to play the right tournaments, get some exposure, and have players signed. I know of one EDP team in Northern MD that has had 3 players commit to colleges recently. That being said, here's a preview of some teams and players to watch in the Loudoun area Feb 27-Mar 1.