ECNL Texas: Challenge SC G06 vs. Classics Elite G06
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The ECNL regular season is coming to an end and teams from all over the country had a big weekend as they fight for the last spots in the postseason. There was a lot of competition in the Texas region…
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Continue ReadingThe ECNL regular season is coming to an end and teams from all over the country had a big weekend as they fight for the last spots in the postseason.
There was a lot of competition in the Texas region as well and Prep Soccer was out there on a rainy Saturday to follow the action between Challenge SC G06 and Classics Elite G06 – click here to see the best photos of the match.
Challenge SC G06 4 x 1 Classics Elite G06
Playing on their home turf, Challenge SC were dominant from the start and benefited from goals from Brianna Carrigan Brianna Carrigan F State TX , Melanie Oldner Melanie Oldner F Kingwood | 2025 TX and Anaiyah Robinson Anaiyah Robinson F Bridgeland (TX) | 2024 State #119 Nation TX to go the halftime break with a comfortable 3-1 lead. The home team kept control of the game in the second and, even slowing down a little bit, was still able to find another goal, with Carrigan getting her second in the day.
Top Performers
Besides getting a goal in each half, Carrigan was the engine for Challenge, playing with a lot of intensity in the middle. She was very involved in the team’s chance creation and was a very dangerous offensive player every time she got on the ball. Carrigan was great at dribbling the ball forward, but also did great when connecting passes from the middle and making intelligent runs into the penalty box to finish, just like the play in which she scored her second goal. She was very dynamic and always kept her team going, but also worked hard off the ball, dropping back and occupying spaces in the middle.
Chloe Burst
Chloe Burst
Burst spent most of the match on the left side of Challenge’s attack and she was a handful for defenders trying to stop her. Very quick and skilled on the ball, she was a nightmare for the players standing in her way and consistently created good chances for herself and her teammates. Very good in 1v1 duels because of her ability to think and execute very quickly, Burst ended the match with a pair of assists. She ended the match playing as a striker and displayed an interesting ability to find pockets of space behind the outside backs to get on the ball and make runs.
Smith played in a very central position in Challenge’s midfield and controlled the team’s pace from there. She played next to Carrigan in the middle and the two complemented each other very well as while Carrigan made good runs on and off the ball and pushed the tempo, Smith used her more cerebral style to slow things down when needed. A lefty, she’s very talented on the ball and distributed it very well, always finding teammates in good spots to make plays. Smith also played an important defensive role with the team, using her great positioning and physical tools to make stops in the middle.
Challenge’s backline was rock solid all day thanks to the great work done by center backs Smith and Gillian Wilson Gillian Wilson D TX . Smith, in particular, was very impressive with her excellent positioning and her presence everywhere on the backline. Very quick and intelligent, she did a great job of covering her teammates on both sides of the field and had some well-time tackles that stopped potentially dangerous players from Classics Elite G06. Smith was very successful in 1v1 duels too, playing hard and making good use of her athleticism.
Although Challenge won the midfield battle, it’s impossible not to highlight Montgomery’s excellent work there with Classics Elite. Playing with tremendous intensity, she was very active during the match and was involved on both sides of the ball. Since her team was trying to win the ball back most of the time, Montgomery was mostly seen covering space and closing passing lanes on defense, but she displayed great quality when she had the ball, connecting good passes and helping Classics Elite maintain possession. She also made some intelligent runs of the ball, offering offensive alternatives to the team up top.
Highlights
Although Classics Elite had little success against Challenge’s backline, on most of the occasions when it happened, Palacios was involved. Very skilled on the ball, she played more to the right of her team’s frontline and had an interesting duel with Challenge’s outside back Lucca Okeley. Palacios was very good at getting the ball with her back to the goal and making turns and moves in tight spaces to beat defenders. She displayed good quality to take the ball to the flank but also drove it inside on a few occasions too, not being able to find many opportunities to finish though.