ECNL Playoffs Day 2 Standouts

It was an incredible day for soccer at 60 acres soccer complex in Redmond, Washington. There were some tightly contested affairs today in Champions League playoffs with many ties being decided from spot kicks. It is a true testament the competitiveness of this league. There were some excellent performances today and definitely some broken hearts as another half of the teams were eliminated from the ultimate goal of winning an ECNL National Championship. Here are some players who had standout performances in today's games.    What a player. So fun to watch. Incredibly dynamic on the dribble can create space for herself in ways that can be really difficult to fathom as a spectator. Really enjoys herself out there you can tell that she really loves playing ball.     You can't help but be a little scared if you're an attacking player trying to go through her to score. She is a beast out there, really embraces contact and doesn't hesitate when it's time to pounce on a loose ball or win a challenge. Defender extraordinaire.     I'd say as a whole today more goalkeepers caught my eye then ever before and Long was one of them. The XF keeper made a plethora of very good saves to keep her team in the game. She was aggressive when coming off her line and claimed balls in the air with real quality, punching a few as well in appropriate moments. Very solid performance from Long.     Man this girl is fast. Insane burst of speed. Good on the ball as well. The TCU commit really impressed me today in San Juan's Penalty Shootout victory against XF. This team is dangerous and can go all the way to win this thing. Macniven can get onto even the most overhit through balls. A midfielder's dream to pass to the ball in behind too.     She was a dog out there against FC Stars. Mustang were under the cosh for most of the game and Wong was wreaking havoc for the star midfield. Her ability to win tackles in midfield is exceptional. She punches well above her weight winning against girls who are much bigger than her.     She has to be 6'1 already and she's not even in high school. Seems like she can move her frame in a coordinated manor too as she exploded to a couple of balls off her line pushing real force into the ground. Very rare athletic profile that can be refined into a truly great goalkeeper one day. She saved a couple of penalties in this game to help her side advance against the always really good MVLA.     On a day where goals were much harder to come by then they normally are at these events, Makasini scored a truly lovely one against Mustang. An absolute banger from the keeper's right side of the edge of the 18 yard box. She curled the ball right into the top corner to tie the game up and force penalties.     Very solid impressive performance from Burns. Excellent with the ball at her feet great decision making throughout the game. Won a ton of headers and made a handful of well timed tackles to stop MVLA attackers in their tracks. Excellent communicator she is definitely the field general out there.     I didn't even know what positions she was playing half the time. She was everywhere making plays for her slammers HBK side. Absolute wand of a left foot and has one of the most insane competitive drives I have ever evaluated.     Had an excellent outing at left back for Penn Fusion in their 1-1 shootout victory over Slammers HBK. She anticipates play very well. She locked down her side and started attacks of her own buried her penalty in the shootout as well.     The midfielder was immense in her sides 2-1 victory over Florida Premier to advance to the next phase. So good on the ball, excellent first touch, makes smart decisions, a little pit bull on defense. I'm a big fan of this young player she makes play after play in a variety of ways on the field offensively and defensively.     Scored her sides first goal to go up 1-0. Showed excellent pace and finishing ability. Very strong athletic profile that can get on the end of things. Puts herself about up front, not scared of getting in-between the ball and the defender drawing a ton fouls. With set pieces becoming more and more valuable in today's game Evans has big time upside at the next level.     Proved why she gets called into USYNT camp. She is a lot to handle up there for any defense. Very physical and has excellent touch with her back to goal. Can drop deep and also ride the last defender. Always an uncomfortable type of profile that any center back will struggle to defend.     Another goalkeeper who impressed me today was Breckenridge. Big time presence back there. Always had the right amount of players in her walls and would rise above everyone to claim air balls. Made a handful of great saves against So Cal Blues.     Energy is what you get from this girl, with and without the ball. Excellent technique taking balls out of the air cleanly. I love a player who thinks about going forward first and that's what Van Sweeden's mentality is.     Looks like she plays a different game to everyone else out there because of how fast she is. She closes spaces so quickly. Causes a ton of problems with her press and I don't know if there is a more valuable player for a program that likes to play on the counter than Gibson. She will score so many goals in quick transition throughout her career.     Massive personality and impressive display for Solar against MVLA. Playing against this team is extremely difficult and Barrett was up to the challenge. She made save after save, showed excellent distribution, most importantly commanded her box with real presence. She did save one penalty in the shootout although it was not enough for her team to advance.     On a team with so many stars. Bellotti plays with players on this MVLA team who are going to some of the top schools in the country and are ranked as some of the top 10 prospects across the 2028 and 2027 classes in the country. Even with all those superstars Bellotti was the best player on the field for MVLA today. Her impact was massive on her team advancing making what seemed like every play that came her way into a positive for MVLA.     Scored an absolute banger to put MVLA up 1-0. She got on the end of a pass from Flo Ibsen and buried shot into the bottom right corner of the goal.     Had the best assist I saw all day. Carving through Florida Premiers defense beating 3 players on the dribble in succession. Proceeding to deliver and exquisite pass to the far post that her teammate just needed to tap home for the game winner. She has an excellent left foot and can generate real whip/power with it.     The center back had a big time performance for [program_tooltip program_id='283257' first='Bay' last='Area Surf'] in their 2-1 win against Florida Premier. Her positioning is top drawer. Always in the right place and makes super smart choices with the ball. Excellent timing on her tackles and aerial duels.     She was a handful for [program_tooltip program_id='283257' first='Bay' last='Area Surf'] to handle. Wreaking havoc with her pace and physicality. Excellent athletic profile with a high competitive motor. Bright future.

It was an incredible day for soccer at 60 acres soccer complex in Redmond, Washington. There were some tightly contested affairs today in Champions League playoffs with many ties being decided from spot kicks. It is a true testament the competitiveness of this league. There were some excellent performances today and definitely some broken hearts as another half of the teams were eliminated from the ultimate goal of winning an ECNL National Championship. Here are some players who had standout performances in today's games.