GA Playoffs Texas Team Preview: HTX 09

<p>After almost ten months of action, the Girls Academy League season is entering its final stretch, with only the best teams from each conference still alive in the battle to win the national title.</p>   <p>A critical moment of the season will unfold from June 18-23, in Norco, California, where the league playoffs will be held. 36 teams will compete in the U15, U16, and U17 age groups, with eight advancing to the League Finals, which will be held in Richmond, Virginia, from July 9-12. The U19 age group has only 12 teams in contention and will have the national champions crowned in Norco.</p>   <p>Six teams from Texas qualified to compete in the playoffs and will be in action in California over the next few days. In the days leading up to the event, we'll preview them:</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">HTX 09</h2>   <p>The team from Houston earned the right to compete in the playoffs after finishing third in the Frontier Conference. HTX played 18 matches against teams from the region, earning 11 wins, two losses and five ties, and accumulating 38 points.</p>   <p><strong>Their Opponents</strong></p>   <p>HTX will play their first matches in Norco in Group I. They will face Pennsylvania's PA Classics, Minnesota's Tonka Fusion Elite and Illinois' FC United.</p>   <p><strong>Their Squad</strong></p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='210641' first='Caelyn' last='Moore'] and Karlie Dietrich are the goalkeepers in HTX's squad. [player_tooltip player_id='148496' first='Emma' last='Harrell'], [player_tooltip player_id='353423' first='Addison' last='Hancock'], [player_tooltip player_id='288541' first='Hadley' last='Hedrick'], [player_tooltip player_id='229570' first='Bryana' last='Molina'] and [player_tooltip player_id='159414' first='Tessa' last='Sprayberry'] are the main options in the backline. The midfield group has [player_tooltip player_id='284641' first='Ella' last='Bizzell'], Kaylen Alvarez, [player_tooltip player_id='331756' first='Harper' last='Montgomery'], [player_tooltip player_id='148498' first='Hallie' last='Montgomery'] and Avery Levermann. The team counts on [player_tooltip player_id='344157' first='Keely' last='Gorman'], [player_tooltip player_id='155704' first='Blake' last='Landry'], [player_tooltip player_id='171665' first='Marjayda' last='Lipsey'], [player_tooltip player_id='112611' first='Kamryn' last='Myers'], Valerie Zamarripa, Lexi Baker, [player_tooltip player_id='277385' first='Sophia' last='Ellis'] and Ogheneruno Mukoro.</p>   <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/DYV-Atnt-np/ </div></figure>   <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Harrell plays as a defender for HTX. She can be used anywhere across the backline, but typically features in central defense, where her ability to defend the penalty box is of great value. Harrell is very strong in the air, pairing excellent positioning and a great vertical to get first to crosses. She also holds her own when dragged outside the box, using her excellent footwork and her firm defensive actions to dispossess opponents. The defender is very comfortable on the ball and often sets up attacking plays with accurate diagonal passes out of the back.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q51i6D4HvEw </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Montgomery can play basically anywhere on the field, but is more commonly used as a central midfielder. She's every coach's dream because of her excellent all-around game and her commitment and determination to help wherever her team needs her to. Montgomery is often very active in the center of the field, covering a lot of ground defensively and winning duels to shut opponents down. She's tidy on the ball, too, showing excellent decision-making and the ability to execute good passes even when under pressure. Montgomery can be an offensive threat as well, especially when she drifts wide on the right to deliver accurate crosses into the box.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY2-PEAWE2o </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Lipsey is a forward with HTX. Her dynamic and powerful style complements the other forwards in the team extremely well and makes her an extremely valuable piece in their offense. Fast and powerful, she's very dangerous when deployed on the wings, as not many defenders can keep up with her strong runs on the ball or dispossess her. Lipsey can also play as a center forward, showing great intelligence to use her body to shield the ball and work with her back to the goal. She's very good at keeping the ball even when surrounded by multiple defenders and has solid finishing instincts.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/marjayda_lipsey/status/1945950187588845986/ </div></figure>

After almost ten months of action, the Girls Academy League season is entering its final stretch, with only the best teams from each conference still alive in the battle to win the national title.